Walt Disney’s (DIS) Buy Rating Reiterated at Needham & Company LLC

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by equities researchers at Needham & Company LLC in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $125.00 target price on the entertainment giant’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 17.87% from the stock’s current price.

DIS has been the topic of a number of other reports. Citigroup restated a “positive” rating on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Friday. Wall Street Zen downgraded Walt Disney from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Walt Disney from $130.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Walt Disney in a research report on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Walt Disney from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.00.

Walt Disney Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of Walt Disney stock traded down $1.56 during trading on Thursday, hitting $106.05. 1,695,486 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,400,652. The firm has a market capitalization of $190.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.55. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $113.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $114.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.66. Walt Disney has a 1-year low of $80.10 and a 1-year high of $124.69.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 13th. The entertainment giant reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.08. Walt Disney had a net margin of 12.22% and a return on equity of 9.67%. The business had revenue of $22.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.78 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.14 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Walt Disney will post 5.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walt Disney

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Walt Disney by 0.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 158,121,947 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $18,104,963,000 after acquiring an additional 620,463 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Walt Disney by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 79,643,043 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $9,915,465,000 after purchasing an additional 625,893 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Walt Disney by 1.2% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 39,992,231 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $4,935,928,000 after buying an additional 458,077 shares in the last quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC purchased a new position in Walt Disney during the 2nd quarter worth $4,220,599,000. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Walt Disney during the second quarter valued at about $2,618,295,000. 65.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.