Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) Earns “Buy” Rating from Citigroup

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by research analysts at Citigroup in a research report issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. They presently have a $125.00 target price on the entertainment giant’s stock. Citigroup’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 12.60% from the stock’s current price.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Walt Disney in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $120.00 price target on the stock. Macquarie restated a “neutral” rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of Walt Disney in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $115.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walt Disney has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $125.52.

Walt Disney Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of Walt Disney stock opened at $111.02 on Wednesday. Walt Disney has a one year low of $83.91 and a one year high of $123.74. The company has a market cap of $201.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.96, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.73. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $112.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $99.90.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The entertainment giant reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. Walt Disney had a net margin of 5.44% and a return on equity of 9.21%. The firm had revenue of $22.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.82 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Walt Disney will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Walt Disney

In related news, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.57, for a total transaction of $42,667,242.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 226,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,980,695.19. This represents a 62.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Brent Woodford sold 8,000 shares of Walt Disney stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.74, for a total value of $917,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,054,870.70. This trade represents a 15.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 385,412 shares of company stock worth $44,153,263 over the last quarter. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walt Disney

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in DIS. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 7,734 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $768,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in Walt Disney during the second quarter worth approximately $378,000. Unisphere Establishment increased its position in shares of Walt Disney by 3.8% in the second quarter. Unisphere Establishment now owns 3,013,500 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $299,210,000 after acquiring an additional 111,500 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LP raised its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 251.2% in the 2nd quarter. Caxton Associates LP now owns 83,888 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $8,329,000 after acquiring an additional 60,000 shares during the period. Finally, AlTi Global Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. AlTi Global Inc. now owns 58,608 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $5,819,000 after acquiring an additional 3,012 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Walt Disney Company Profile

The Walt Disney Company operates as an entertainment company worldwide. It operates through three segments: Entertainment, Sports, and Experiences. The company produces and distributes film and television video streaming content under the ABC Television Network, Disney, Freeform, FX, Fox, National Geographic, and Star brand television channels, as well as ABC television stations and A+E television networks; and produces original content under the ABC Signature, Disney Branded Television, FX Productions, Lucasfilm, Marvel, National Geographic Studios, Pixar, Searchlight Pictures, Twentieth Century Studios, 20th Television, and Walt Disney Pictures banners.