Jefferies analyst John Janedis reiterated a Buy rating and $18 price target on News Corp. (NASDAQ: NWSA) as EBITDA beat, but print trends remain soft.

Janedis commented, "NWSA reported F1Q Adj EBITDA of $137M (ex. Wireless Group transaction exp), slightly better than our $122M due to higher profitability at DRES and HC. That said, the decline in print adv (-11% vs. JEFe -7%), and in particular that of the WSJ (-21%) will be a focus for investors. We expect stabilizing margins and core EBITDA growth in 2H17, however, worsening trends would pose a risk to the thesis."

The firm trimmed FY 2017 EPS from $0.32 to $0.27 and FY 2018 EPS from $0.37 to $0.34.

For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on News Corp. click here. For more ratings news on News Corp. click here.

Shares of News Corp. closed at $12.22 yesterday.