Sony Corporation (NYSE:SONY) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Sony Corporation (NYSE:SONY) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $22.00.

Several research firms have issued reports on SONY. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Sony from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, August 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Sony in a report on Monday, August 17th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Sony in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Zacks Research raised Sony from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th.

Sony Price Performance

NYSE:SONY traded down $0.50 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $23.33. 462,253 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,800,362. The business has a 50 day moving average of $23.11 and a 200 day moving average of $21.80. Sony has a 1-year low of $19.32 and a 1-year high of $30.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The company has a market capitalization of $137.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.93.

Sony (NYSE:SONY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, August 1st. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $17.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.17 billion. Sony had a negative net margin of 2.00% and a positive return on equity of 13.06%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $42.84 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Sony will post 1.41 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Sony

In other Sony news, insider Jonathan Jose Platt sold 16,512 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.08, for a total transaction of $348,072.96. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 83,326 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,756,512.08. This trade represents a 16.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Robert Adrian Stringer sold 545,547 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.49, for a total value of $12,269,352.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 100,547 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,261,302.03. This trade represents a 84.44% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 901,565 shares of company stock valued at $19,867,651 over the last quarter. 7.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sony

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. WCM Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Sony by 337.6% in the 1st quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 1,949,592 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,836,000 after purchasing an additional 1,504,035 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sony in the first quarter worth $23,933,000. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in shares of Sony in the second quarter worth $10,232,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new stake in Sony during the 1st quarter valued at $39,998,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its holdings in Sony by 338.7% during the 1st quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 295,454 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,116,000 after buying an additional 228,108 shares during the last quarter. 14.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sony Company Profile

Sony Group Corporation is a Japan-based global entertainment and technology company headquartered in Tokyo. Founded in 1946 as Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo, the company adopted the Sony name in 1958 and has developed a diversified portfolio spanning consumer electronics, interactive entertainment, music, film and television, and imaging technology.

Sony’s Game & Network Services business operates the PlayStation platform and provides hardware, software, digital content and network services.