Bank of Nova Scotia Boosts Position in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA)

Bank of Nova Scotia increased its holdings in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 50,585 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,148 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in News were worth $1,393,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of News by 2,392.9% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,005 shares during the period. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in News in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in News during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of News by 49.7% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,989 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 660 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of News in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $85,000. Institutional investors own 66.97% of the company’s stock.

News Stock Performance

Shares of NWSA stock opened at $26.19 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $14.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.88 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 1.73. News Co. has a one year low of $22.65 and a one year high of $30.69. The company’s 50-day moving average is $27.57 and its 200 day moving average is $27.73.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.04. News had a net margin of 4.22% and a return on equity of 5.31%. Sell-side analysts expect that News Co. will post 0.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

News Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. News’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup initiated coverage on News in a research note on Friday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of News to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of News from $44.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. UBS Group raised shares of News from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of News from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, News has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $38.80.

About News

News Corporation, a media and information services company, creates and distributes authoritative and engaging content, and other products and services for consumers and businesses worldwide. It operates through six segments: Digital Real Estate Services, Subscription Video Services, Dow Jones, Book Publishing, News Media, and Other.