The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-six analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nineteen have assigned a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $125.52.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Walt Disney from $116.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Loop Capital upped their target price on Walt Disney from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Redburn Atlantic raised Walt Disney from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $100.00 to $147.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price target on Walt Disney from $122.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Walt Disney from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th.

Walt Disney Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DIS opened at $114.10 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $112.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $100.66. The company has a market cap of $206.35 billion, a PE ratio of 42.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Walt Disney has a twelve month low of $83.91 and a twelve month high of $123.74.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The entertainment giant reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. Walt Disney had a return on equity of 9.21% and a net margin of 5.44%. The company had revenue of $22.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $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 predict that Walt Disney will post 5.41 EPS for the current year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a yield of 0.6%. This is an increase from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Walt Disney’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.90%.

Insider Activity at Walt Disney

In other Walt Disney news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.74, for a total transaction of $917,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,055 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,054,870.70. This trade represents a 15.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 $25,980,695.19. This trade represents a 62.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 385,412 shares of company stock worth $44,153,263 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walt Disney

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in DIS. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Walt Disney by 23.4% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 19,197,463 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $2,137,637,000 after purchasing an additional 3,636,742 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Walt Disney by 12,574.4% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,426,393 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $329,585,000 after purchasing an additional 3,399,359 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Walt Disney by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 34,416,668 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $3,310,539,000 after purchasing an additional 2,765,389 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of Walt Disney by 114.4% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,307,794 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $414,582,000 after purchasing an additional 2,298,921 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in Walt Disney by 112.0% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,142,991 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $398,508,000 after acquiring an additional 2,188,610 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

About Walt Disney

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.