Watershed Asset Management L.L.C. Makes New Investment in News Corporation $NWSA

Watershed Asset Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 18,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $461,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in NWSA. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in News in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC bought a new position in shares of News in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new position in shares of News in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its stake in shares of News by 154.5% in the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,285 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 780 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of News by 561.1% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,732 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 1,470 shares during the period. 66.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

News Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of NWSA opened at $28.43 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $26.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $25.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.14 and a beta of 0.89. News Corporation has a 12-month low of $22.20 and a 12-month high of $31.61.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.05. News had a return on equity of 6.12% and a net margin of 12.92%.The company had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.17 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that News Corporation will post 0.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on NWSA. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $34.00 target price on shares of News in a report on Sunday, May 10th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of News from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded News from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Weiss Ratings upgraded News from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on News from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, News presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.14.

About News

News Corporation (NASDAQ: NWSA) is a global diversified media and information services company headquartered in New York City. It operates through two principal segments: News and Information Services, and Digital Real Estate Services. The company’s news and information division oversees a portfolio of leading newspapers, magazines and digital platforms, offering content across print and online channels. Its properties include Dow Jones, publisher of The Wall Street Journal and Barron’s, News UK titles such as The Times and The Sun, as well as News Corp Australia mastheads.

In addition to its journalism assets, News Corp is a significant player in book publishing through HarperCollins, one of the world’s largest consumer publishers.