News (NASDAQ:NWS) Lowered to Hold Rating by Zacks Research

Zacks Research cut shares of News (NASDAQ:NWS) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Separately, Weiss Ratings raised shares of News from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, News presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

News Stock Down 1.7%

NASDAQ:NWS opened at $31.27 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.59. News has a one year low of $25.49 and a one year high of $35.58. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $30.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.23. The company has a market cap of $17.12 billion, a PE ratio of 15.56 and a beta of 0.88.

News (NASDAQ:NWS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.07. News had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 6.12%. The company had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.12 billion. On average, research analysts anticipate that News will post 1.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On News

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of News in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of News during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Arax Advisory Partners acquired a new stake in shares of News in the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in News by 69.0% in the 4th quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 665 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in News by 74.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,056 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 878 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 14.63% of the company’s stock.

About News

News Corporation (NASDAQ: NWS) is a global media and information services company engaged in news and digital real estate, book publishing and other media businesses. The company’s operations include print and digital newsbrands, business and financial information services, consumer platforms for property listings, and a major book publishing arm. Through its subsidiaries and brands, News Corp produces news content, market and financial reporting, online real-estate marketplaces and trade and consumer publishing products.

Key areas of activity include news and information, where the company publishes national and regional newspapers and operates business information services; book publishing through a well-known global publisher; and property-related digital businesses that operate online marketplaces for real estate listings.