FOX (NASDAQ:FOX) Shares Gap Up After Strong Earnings

Fox Co. (NASDAQ:FOX)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $49.19, but opened at $52.37. FOX shares last traded at $51.14, with a volume of 246,129 shares trading hands.

The company reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.35. FOX had a return on equity of 16.49% and a net margin of 13.40%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.34 EPS.

FOX Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. FOX’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on FOX. Barclays raised FOX to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Moffett Nathanson downgraded shares of FOX from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Adam G. Ciongoli sold 1,278 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.13, for a total value of $69,178.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,897 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,618,324.61. This represents a 4.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Keith Rupert Murdoch sold 771,024 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.07, for a total value of $35,521,075.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 23.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of FOX

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of FOX by 7.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,639,382 shares of the company’s stock worth $374,008,000 after acquiring an additional 671,511 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in FOX by 3.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,109,955 shares of the company’s stock valued at $120,299,000 after purchasing an additional 92,515 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in FOX by 58.4% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,970,917 shares of the company’s stock worth $135,890,000 after purchasing an additional 1,095,073 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in FOX by 15.2% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,716,165 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,582,000 after purchasing an additional 226,867 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in FOX by 212.7% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,437,637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,780,000 after buying an additional 977,907 shares during the last quarter. 26.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

FOX Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $23.42 billion, a PE ratio of 12.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.82. 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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $46.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.13.

About FOX

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.