Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) Stock Price Up 1.2% – Should You Buy?

The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)’s share price shot up 1.2% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $112.80 and last traded at $111.9510. 11,665,216 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 20% from the average session volume of 9,689,259 shares. The stock had previously closed at $110.63.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on DIS. Wall Street Zen cut Walt Disney from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $140.00 price target on shares of Walt Disney in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Walt Disney in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Walt Disney from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Arete Research raised shares of Walt Disney to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $134.41.

Walt Disney Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $199.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.49. The company’s 50 day moving average is $109.15 and its 200-day moving average is $114.58.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 13th. The entertainment giant reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $22.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.78 billion. Walt Disney had a net margin of 13.14% and a return on equity of 9.37%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.14 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.47 EPS for the current year.

Walt Disney Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a yield of 139.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. Walt Disney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.87%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walt Disney

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walt Disney in the second quarter worth about $4,220,599,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 8,744.0% during the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 320,329 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $39,724,000 after buying an additional 316,707 shares in the last quarter. Lodge Hill Capital LLC bought a new position in Walt Disney in the 1st quarter worth approximately $24,373,000. Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd grew its stake in Walt Disney by 13.6% in the 2nd quarter. Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd now owns 502,961 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $62,372,000 after buying an additional 60,353 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chapin Davis Inc. raised its holdings in Walt Disney by 10.4% during the 2nd quarter. Chapin Davis Inc. now owns 30,117 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $3,735,000 after acquiring an additional 2,828 shares during the period. 65.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.