Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) Stock Rating Upgraded by Citigroup

Citigroup upgraded shares of Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

DIS has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on Walt Disney from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Walt Disney from $116.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Macquarie reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Monday, January 6th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Walt Disney from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Walt Disney in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $120.00 price objective on the stock. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walt Disney currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.52.

Walt Disney Price Performance

DIS stock opened at $111.02 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $201.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.43. The business’s 50-day moving average is $112.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $99.90. Walt Disney has a 1 year low of $83.91 and a 1 year high of $123.74.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The entertainment giant reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $22.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.49 billion. Walt Disney had a return on equity of 9.21% and a net margin of 5.44%. Walt Disney’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.82 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Walt Disney will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This is a boost from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. This represents a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Walt Disney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.90%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 5,000 shares of Walt Disney stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.62, for a total transaction of $568,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,005,529.10. The trade was a 10.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of Walt Disney stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.57, for a total value of $42,667,242.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 226,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,980,695.19. This represents a 62.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 385,412 shares of company stock valued at $44,153,263 in the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walt Disney

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Walt Disney by 105.8% during the fourth quarter. SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,465 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $609,000 after buying an additional 2,810 shares in the last quarter. Dohj LLC increased its position in Walt Disney by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Dohj LLC now owns 10,156 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $1,131,000 after buying an additional 397 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its position in Walt Disney by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 8,299 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $911,000 after buying an additional 970 shares in the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC increased its position in Walt Disney by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 9,932 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $1,106,000 after buying an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Walt Disney during the fourth quarter worth $209,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Walt Disney Company Profile

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.