Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) Upgraded by Citigroup to “Strong-Buy” Rating

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) was upgraded by stock analysts at Citigroup to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the company. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Walt Disney from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on Walt Disney from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Walt Disney in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. They set a “hold” rating and a $120.00 price objective for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on Walt Disney from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price objective on Walt Disney from $122.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walt Disney presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $125.52.

Walt Disney Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DIS opened at $111.02 on Tuesday. Walt Disney has a one year low of $83.91 and a one year high of $123.74. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $112.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $99.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.73. The company has a market cap of $201.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.96, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.43.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The entertainment giant reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $22.57 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.82 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Walt Disney will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Walt Disney news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 5,000 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,005,529.10. This represents a 10.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the company’s 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 in the company, valued at approximately $25,980,695.19. This represents a 62.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 385,412 shares of company stock worth $44,153,263. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 105.8% in the 4th quarter. SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,465 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $609,000 after purchasing an additional 2,810 shares during the period. Dohj LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Dohj LLC now owns 10,156 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $1,131,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 8,299 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $911,000 after purchasing an additional 970 shares during the period. Waldron Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 9,932 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $1,106,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. Finally, N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walt Disney in the 4th quarter valued at $209,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

About Walt Disney

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.