Short Interest in News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWS) Expands By 31.6%

News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWS) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 9,666,407 shares, a growth of 31.6% from the January 15th total of 7,345,028 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,176,026 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 8.2 days. Approximately 1.9% of the company’s shares are sold short. Approximately 1.9% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,176,026 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 8.2 days.

News Price Performance

Shares of NWS opened at $26.32 on Wednesday. News has a fifty-two week low of $25.49 and a fifty-two week high of $35.58. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $29.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $30.81. The stock has a market cap of $14.62 billion, a PE ratio of 12.97 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a current ratio of 1.81.

News (NASDAQ:NWS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.15. News had a net margin of 13.35% and a return on equity of 5.94%. The firm had revenue of $2.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Analysts anticipate that News will post 1.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

News Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 73.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 11th. News’s payout ratio is currently 9.85%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NWS. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of News by 2.0% during the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 17,032 shares of the company’s stock valued at $588,000 after acquiring an additional 337 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of News by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,983 shares of the company’s stock worth $162,000 after purchasing an additional 338 shares in the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of News by 8.9% in the third quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,480 shares of the company’s stock worth $155,000 after purchasing an additional 367 shares during the last quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co. boosted its position in shares of News by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co. now owns 7,212 shares of the company’s stock valued at $214,000 after buying an additional 369 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in News by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 4,014 shares of the company’s stock worth $139,000 after buying an additional 386 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 14.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NWS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of News from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Zacks Research raised shares of News from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Strong Buy”.

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.