Media giant The New York Times Co. (NYSE: NYT) has witnessed increased footfall on its website so far this year, according to TipRanks’ Website Traffic Tool, which uses data from SEMrush Holdings (NYSE: SEMR), the world’s biggest website usage monitoring service.
According to the tool, NYT’s website traffic registered an almost 26% rise in global visits year-to-date, compared to the same period last year. Further, the footfall on the company’s website has grown 22.8% year-over-year in the second quarter and 23.6% in June.
However, the traffic on the company’s website declined 6.7% in the second quarter versus the first quarter of 2022. The figure is down nearly 11% in June from May.
The year-over-year increase could be the result of NYT’s efforts to scale its digital subscription business. This is in line with the plan that the company provided at its Investor Day last month.
At the event, the President and CEO of The New York Times Company, said, “Over the past five years, we have transformed The Times into a digital-first, subscription-first definitive market leader with more than nine million subscribers and a goal of 15 million by year-end 2027,” Meredith Kopit Levien.
Additionally, the company anticipates adjusted operating profit to expand at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9% to 12% in the medium term, with 2022 as the base year.
NYT to Report Q2 Results Next Month
Meanwhile, The New York Times Co. is scheduled to release its second-quarter results on August 3. The consensus EPS estimate stands at $0.19, lower than the year-ago EPS of $0.36.
Even though the figure is expected to decline year-over-year, the company is likely to beat expectations.
Wall Street’s Take on NYT
Following the investor day on June 13, Evercore ISI analyst Vijay Jayant maintained a Buy rating on the stock but lowered the price target to $40 from $50 (37.1% upside potential).
Jayant expects the media firm to achieve the adjusted operating profit growth rate of 12%. the analyst expects further upside if the company raises the price of its digital subscription service.
Thomas Yeh, an analyst with Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), also reiterated a Buy rating on NYT and trimmed the price target to $40 from $56.
Yeh said, “While the company’s investor day boosted confidence in the total addressable market, the company’s investments, and possible macro headwinds present downside to medium-term margin expectations.”
On TipRanks, the stock has a Moderate Buy consensus rating based on three Buys, two Holds and one Sell. NYT’s average price target of $36.42 implies 24.8% upside potential from current levels.
NYT Focuses on Digitization to Boost Growth
With a focus on digitization, NYT aims to boost growth in the long term. The company’s efforts seem to be reaping benefits as can be seen from the year-over-year rise in the visits to NYTimes.com. Investors should wait for NYT’s second-quarter results to determine if the company is abreast of its goals. Shares of NYT gained more than 1% on Tuesday to close at $29.18.
Learn how Website Traffic can help you research your favorite stocks.
Read full Disclosure
