FOX (NASDAQ:FOXA) Shares Gap Up After Earnings Beat

Fox Co. (NASDAQ:FOXA)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $51.95, but opened at $55.43. FOX shares last traded at $54.06, with a volume of 980,373 shares trading hands.

The company reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.34. FOX had a return on equity of 16.49% and a net margin of 13.40%. The business had revenue of $5.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.78 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.34 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 19.9% compared to the same quarter last year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on FOXA. Macquarie restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $43.00 target price on shares of FOX in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Bank of America upped their price objective on FOX from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on FOX from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Guggenheim raised their price target on FOX from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of FOX from $42.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $48.25.

Insider Activity at FOX

In other FOX news, Chairman Keith Rupert Murdoch sold 186,871 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.22, for a total transaction of $8,637,177.62. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 21.77% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FOX

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FOXA. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of FOX by 44,205.3% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 7,915,576 shares of the company’s stock valued at $335,066,000 after acquiring an additional 7,897,710 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of FOX by 228.4% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,387,107 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,716,000 after buying an additional 964,737 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its stake in shares of FOX by 308.5% during the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,218,070 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,174,000 after buying an additional 919,883 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its position in shares of FOX by 3,077.5% in the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 885,476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,016,000 after acquiring an additional 857,609 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its stake in FOX by 56.1% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,367,698 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,022,000 after acquiring an additional 851,127 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.52% of the company’s stock.

FOX Trading Up 5.2 %

The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 2.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.83. The company has a market cap of $24.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.36, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.76.

FOX Company Profile

Fox Corporation operates as a news, sports, and entertainment company in the United States (U.S.). The company operates through four segments: Cable Network Programming, Television, Credible, and The FOX Studio Lot. The Cable Network Programming segment produces and licenses 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.