FOX (NASDAQ:FOXA) Cut to “Hold” at Seaport Res Ptn

Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of FOX (NASDAQ:FOXA) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Monday morning, Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on FOXA. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on FOX from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of FOX from an underweight rating to an overweight rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $29.00 to $46.00 in a research report on Friday, August 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of FOX from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of FOX from $33.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an in-line rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities upped their price target on FOX from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, FOX has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $38.23.

FOX Stock Performance

Shares of FOXA stock opened at $39.40 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $18.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.35, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.76. FOX has a 52-week low of $28.28 and a 52-week high of $41.58. The company has a quick ratio of 2.33, a current ratio of 2.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company’s 50 day moving average is $38.50 and its 200 day moving average is $34.25.

FOX (NASDAQ:FOXA) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $3.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.10 billion. FOX had a return on equity of 15.57% and a net margin of 10.74%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.88 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that FOX will post 3.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FOX Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a Semi-Annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 4th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 4th. This is a positive change from FOX’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.26. This represents a dividend yield of 1.4%. FOX’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.93%.

Insider Transactions at FOX

In other news, CEO Lachlan K. Murdoch bought 119,705 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $39.06 per share, for a total transaction of $4,675,677.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,076,407 shares in the company, valued at $42,044,457.42. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other FOX news, COO John Nallen sold 52,874 shares of FOX stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.96, for a total transaction of $2,059,971.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 249,424 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,717,559.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Lachlan K. Murdoch bought 119,705 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was bought at an average price of $39.06 per share, for a total transaction of $4,675,677.30. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,076,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,044,457.42. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 21.77% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FOXA. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its stake in shares of FOX by 176.6% during the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 722 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 461 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in FOX by 254.4% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,127 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 809 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its position in FOX by 38.4% during the first quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,305 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 362 shares during the period. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in FOX in the second quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. purchased a new position in FOX in the second quarter valued at $52,000. 52.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

FOX Company Profile

Fox Corporation operates as a news, sports, and entertainment company in the United States (U.S.). The company operates through Cable Network Programming; Television; and Other, Corporate and Eliminations segments. The Cable Network Programming segment produces and licenses news, business news, and sports content for distribution through traditional cable television systems, direct broadcast satellite operators, and telecommunication companies, virtual multi-channel video programming distributors, and other digital platforms primarily in the U.S.