Needham & Company LLC Reaffirms Buy Rating for Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS)

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by stock analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $125.00 price objective on the entertainment giant’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 18.07% from the company’s previous close.

DIS has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Walt Disney from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Walt Disney in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Walt Disney from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Walt Disney from $134.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Friday. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $134.41.

Walt Disney Price Performance

Walt Disney stock opened at $105.87 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $190.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.55. Walt Disney has a 12-month low of $80.10 and a 12-month high of $124.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $112.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $114.41.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 13th. The entertainment giant reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.08. Walt Disney had a net margin of 12.22% and a return on equity of 9.67%. The business had revenue of $22.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.14 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Walt Disney will post 5.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Walt Disney

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in DIS. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG grew its position in shares of Walt Disney by 8.1% in the first quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 222,747 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $21,983,000 after purchasing an additional 16,781 shares during the last quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC acquired a new position in Walt Disney in the second quarter valued at about $4,220,599,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 8,744.0% during the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 320,329 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $39,724,000 after purchasing an additional 316,707 shares during the last quarter. Lodge Hill Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walt Disney during the first quarter worth approximately $24,373,000. Finally, Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd raised its position in shares of Walt Disney by 13.6% during the second quarter. Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd now owns 502,961 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $62,372,000 after acquiring an additional 60,353 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

About Walt Disney

The Walt Disney Company operates as an entertainment company worldwide. It operates through three segments: Entertainment, Sports, and Experiences. The company produces and distributes film and television video streaming content under the ABC Television Network, Disney, Freeform, FX, Fox, National Geographic, and Star brand television channels, as well as ABC television stations and A+E television networks; and produces original content under the ABC Signature, Disney Branded Television, FX Productions, Lucasfilm, Marvel, National Geographic Studios, Pixar, Searchlight Pictures, Twentieth Century Studios, 20th Television, and Walt Disney Pictures banners.