Walt Disney’s (DIS) Buy Rating Reaffirmed at Citigroup

Citigroup reissued their buy rating on shares of Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) in a report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. Citigroup currently has a $125.00 price objective on the entertainment giant’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Walt Disney from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Walt Disney from $115.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Loop Capital lifted their price target on Walt Disney from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. 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, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Walt Disney from $116.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Five investment 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.com, Walt Disney currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $125.52.

Walt Disney Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of DIS stock opened at $112.25 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $112.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $99.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.73. Walt Disney has a twelve month low of $83.91 and a twelve month high of $123.74. The company has a market capitalization of $203.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.42, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.43.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The entertainment giant reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $22.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.49 billion. Walt Disney had a return on equity of 9.21% and a net margin of 5.44%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.82 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Walt Disney will post 5.41 EPS for the current year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Walt Disney

In related news, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 226,767 shares in the company, valued at $25,980,695.19. This trade represents a 62.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Brent Woodford sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.62, for a total value of $568,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,055 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,005,529.10. This represents a 10.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 385,412 shares of company stock worth $44,153,263. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walt Disney

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DIS. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Walt Disney by 8.4% in the third quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 66,744 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $6,420,000 after buying an additional 5,184 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Walt Disney by 1.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,411,205 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $1,001,454,000 after buying an additional 114,701 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its stake in Walt Disney by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 140,883 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $15,687,000 after buying an additional 13,339 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments lifted its stake in Walt Disney by 476.0% in the third quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 12,379 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $1,191,000 after buying an additional 10,230 shares during the period. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new position in Walt Disney in the fourth quarter valued at about $15,125,000. Institutional investors 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.