Fox Co. (NASDAQ:FOX) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Fox Co. (NASDAQ:FOX) was the target of a large drop in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,840,000 shares, a drop of 16.5% from the August 15th total of 3,400,000 shares. Approximately 2.2% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 907,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.1 days.

FOX Stock Up 0.3 %

FOX stock traded up $0.12 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $37.56. The stock had a trading volume of 760,883 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,118,605. The company has a current ratio of 2.54, a quick ratio of 2.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. FOX has a 12 month low of $25.82 and a 12 month high of $38.51. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $36.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $32.00. The company has a market capitalization of $17.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.74, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.81.

FOX (NASDAQ:FOX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.03. FOX had a net margin of 10.74% and a return on equity of 15.57%. The business had revenue of $3.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.88 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that FOX will post 3.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FOX Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 4th will be given a $0.27 dividend. This is a boost from FOX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 4th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.88%. FOX’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.93%.

Insider Activity at FOX

In other FOX news, CEO Lachlan K. Murdoch purchased 119,705 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $39.06 per share, for a total transaction of $4,675,677.30. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,076,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,044,457.42. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, COO John Nallen sold 52,874 shares of FOX stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.96, for a total value of $2,059,971.04. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 249,424 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,717,559.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Lachlan K. Murdoch bought 119,705 shares of FOX stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was bought at an average price of $39.06 per share, for a total transaction of $4,675,677.30. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,076,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,044,457.42. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 19.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of FOX

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FOX. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of FOX during the fourth quarter valued at about $70,598,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of FOX during the 2nd quarter worth $65,709,000. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its position in FOX by 315.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 1,052,781 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,108,000 after buying an additional 799,383 shares during the period. Independent Franchise Partners LLP increased its holdings in FOX by 14.5% during the second quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 5,023,830 shares of the company’s stock worth $160,863,000 after buying an additional 636,247 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Regal Partners Ltd bought a new stake in FOX in the second quarter worth about $16,398,000. 26.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of FOX from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th.

About FOX

Fox Corporation operates as a news, sports, and entertainment company in the United States (U.S.). The company operates through Cable Network Programming; Television; and Other, Corporate and Eliminations segments. The Cable Network Programming segment produces and licenses news, business 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.