FOX (NASDAQ:FOX) Cut to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research cut shares of FOX (NASDAQ:FOX) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on FOX. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of FOX in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Cfra reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $73.00 price target on shares of FOX in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of FOX from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of FOX in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Fox Advisors set a $97.00 target price on shares of FOX in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.50.

FOX Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FOX opened at $58.35 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $64.08 and its 200-day moving average is $57.90. The company has a market cap of $25.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.03, a PEG ratio of 8.19 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 3.03 and a current ratio of 2.78. FOX has a 52-week low of $43.18 and a 52-week high of $68.18.

FOX (NASDAQ:FOX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.31. FOX had a return on equity of 18.14% and a net margin of 11.41%.The business had revenue of $5.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.06 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that FOX will post 4.25 earnings per share for the current year.

FOX Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 4th. FOX’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other FOX news, CFO Steven Tomsic sold 138,397 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.54, for a total transaction of $9,208,936.38. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 180,556 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,014,196.24. This represents a 43.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Keith Rupert Murdoch sold 100,000 shares of FOX stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.26, for a total transaction of $5,926,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 1,100,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,237,082.12. This trade represents a 8.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 268,294 shares of company stock worth $17,214,273 in the last quarter. 23.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FOX

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FOX. GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. increased its stake in shares of FOX by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. now owns 246,011 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,702,000 after buying an additional 10,000 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in FOX by 140.6% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 356,874 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,425,000 after acquiring an additional 208,547 shares during the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors bought a new position in FOX in the second quarter valued at about $341,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its position in FOX by 59.9% in the second quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 172,893 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,926,000 after purchasing an additional 64,743 shares during the period. Finally, Amalgamated Bank raised its holdings in FOX by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 26,321 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,359,000 after purchasing an additional 948 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.41% of the company’s stock.

FOX News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting FOX this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Company declared a cash dividend of $0.28 per share (record Mar 4, pay Mar 25), which supports income-focused investors and signals management’s willingness to return capital to shareholders.
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage roundup suggests Wall Street remains moderately optimistic overall about FOX’s prospects given recent outperformance vs. the market; that helps limit downside from episodic negative headlines. Is Wall Street Bullish or Bearish on Fox Corporation Stock?
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley maintained a Hold on FOX but raised its price target to $77, citing solid fundamentals and streaming momentum that offset structural linear-TV headwinds — a mixed analyst view that implies limited near-term upside but recognition of long-term cash generation. Fox Corporation: Solid Fundamentals and Streaming Momentum…
• Neutral Sentiment: High volume of Fox News editorial and breaking-news coverage (crime, politics, international events, sports) can sustain audience engagement and ad inventory value, but content flow is a steady-state operational factor rather than a one-off catalyst. Example coverage: Nancy Guthrie disappearance live updates. Nancy Guthrie disappearance: Live updates
• Neutral Sentiment: Note: A TipRanks entry about FOXO Technologies converting related-party debt into preferred equity refers to a different ticker (FOXO) and is not related to Fox Corporation (FOX). FOXO Technologies Converts Related-Party Debt Into Preferred Equity
• Negative Sentiment: Wells Fargo downgraded FOX from “strong-buy” to “hold,” which likely triggered some selling and contributed to weaker intraday sentiment. Wells Fargo downgrades FOX (TickerReport)
• Negative Sentiment: Structural headwinds in linear TV remain a recurring risk (rating agencies and analysts cite this), and the stock is trading below its 50‑day moving average — a technical signal that can amplify short-term downside if sentiment deteriorates.

About FOX

Fox Corporation (NASDAQ:FOX) is a U.S.-based media company that operates television broadcast, news and sports businesses. The company traces its contemporary structure to the 2019 reorganization that followed the sale of certain entertainment assets to The Walt Disney Company; Fox Corporation retained a portfolio centered on the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox Television Stations, Fox News Media and Fox Sports. Over time the company has expanded its digital footprint through acquisitions and direct-to-consumer services, building a mix of linear and streaming distribution.

FOX’s core activities include the creation, aggregation and distribution of television programming and live sports, the operation of national cable news and business networks, and the ownership and operation of local broadcast stations.