Fox Co. (NASDAQ:FOXA) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Fox Co. (NASDAQ:FOXA) saw a significant decline in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 16,970,000 shares, a decline of 20.9% from the February 13th total of 21,460,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,900,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.4 days. Currently, 7.9% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Insider Activity at FOX

In related news, insider Adam G. Ciongoli sold 1,278 shares of FOX stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.13, for a total transaction of $69,178.14. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,897 shares in the company, valued at $1,618,324.61. The trade was a 4.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Keith Rupert Murdoch sold 58,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.17, for a total value of $3,083,860.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,200,862 shares in the company, valued at $63,849,832.54. This trade represents a 4.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 21.77% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of FOX

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in FOX by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 307,111 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,919,000 after buying an additional 12,251 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of FOX by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,468 shares of the company’s stock worth $509,000 after acquiring an additional 754 shares during the period. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH bought a new position in shares of FOX in the fourth quarter worth about $987,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in shares of FOX in the fourth quarter worth about $7,855,000. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of FOX in the fourth quarter worth about $1,404,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.52% of the company’s stock.

FOX Stock Performance

FOX stock traded up $0.56 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $52.94. 2,639,238 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,090,169. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.00 billion, a PE ratio of 11.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.50 and a quick ratio of 2.14. FOX has a 12-month low of $29.53 and a 12-month high of $58.74. The business’s 50-day moving average is $52.79 and its 200-day moving average is $47.33.

FOX (NASDAQ:FOXA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $5.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.78 billion. FOX had a return on equity of 18.50% and a net margin of 14.39%. FOX’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.34 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that FOX will post 4.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FOX Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a yield of 1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. FOX’s payout ratio is 11.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup boosted their target price on FOX from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. StockNews.com downgraded FOX from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on FOX from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Loop Capital boosted their target price on FOX from $48.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Moffett Nathanson downgraded FOX from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $51.00 to $52.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, FOX has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.19.

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.