News Corporation (NWSA), based in New York, is a global media and information services company with diverse business interests, with a market cap of $15.8 billion. It operates in six segments: Digital Real Estate Services, Subscription Video Services, Dow Jones, Book Publishing, News Media, and Other. Its brands encompass notable names like The Wall Street Journal, The Times, and HarperCollins.
Shares of this entertainment behemoth have outperformed the broader market over the past 52 weeks. The stock has gained 36.4% over this time frame, while the broader S&P 500 Index ($SPX) has rallied 19.6%. In 2024, NWSA is up 13%, surpassing SPX’s 12% rise on a YTD basis.
Narrowing the focus, NWSA has also outperformed the Vanguard Communication Services Index Fund ETF Shares (VOX), which has surged 24% over the past 52 weeks.
Shares of NWSA popped 2.9% following the release of its Q4 earnings report on Aug. 8. News Corporation concluded fiscal year 2024 with robust financial results, including a 5.9% increase in fourth-quarter revenues to nearly $2.6 billion. This performance was driven by strong growth in the company's book publishing, digital real estate services, and Dow Jones segments. Looking ahead to fiscal 2025, News Corp emphasized its partnership with OpenAI and its plans for digital expansion and cost efficiencies.
For the current fiscal year, ending in June 2025, analysts expect News Corporation’s EPS to rise 32.9% annually to $0.93 on a diluted basis. The company's earnings surprise history is robust. It beat the consensus estimate in each of the last four quarters and surpassed consensus EPS estimates by 13.3% in the previous quarter.
NWSA has a unanimous “Strong Buy” rating from all six analysts covering the stock.
This configuration has been consistent over the past months.
On Feb. 8, a Macquarie analyst upgraded News Corp from a “Neutral” to an “Outperform” rating with a price target of $30. The analyst praised the company's robust performance, notably in its digital information segment, and cited potential upside from ongoing AI negotiations as a reason for the upgrade.
The mean price target of $33.20 represents a 19.7% premium to NWSA’s current price levels. The Street-high price target of $37 suggests an upside potential of 33.4%.
On the date of publication, Kritika Sarmah did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
