Fox Co. (NASDAQ:FOXA) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Fox Co. (NASDAQ:FOXA) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the fourteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $38.23.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on FOXA shares. Evercore ISI upped their price target on FOX from $33.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Seaport Res Ptn cut FOX from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price objective on FOX from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on FOX from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Macquarie boosted their price objective on FOX from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO John Nallen sold 52,874 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.96, for a total value of $2,059,971.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 249,424 shares in the company, valued at $9,717,559.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Lachlan K. Murdoch acquired 119,705 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was purchased at an average cost 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $2,059,971.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 249,424 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,717,559.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 21.77% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of FOX

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its position in FOX by 176.6% in the second 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 during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings in FOX by 38.4% during the first quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,305 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in FOX during the second quarter worth about $51,000. Finally, Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. bought a new position in FOX during the second quarter worth about $52,000. 52.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

FOX Stock Up 1.9 %

FOXA opened at $39.66 on Monday. FOX has a twelve month low of $28.28 and a twelve month high of $41.58. The firm has a market cap of $18.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.76. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $38.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 2.33 and a current ratio of 2.54.

FOX (NASDAQ:FOXA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.07. FOX had a return on equity of 15.57% and a net margin of 10.74%. The company had revenue of $3.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.88 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that FOX will post 3.72 EPS for the current year.

FOX Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a Semi-Annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 4th will be paid 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 (DPR) is 16.93%.

About FOX

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.