How to buy Disney shares

The Walt Disney Company is an entertainment business with stocks listed in the US. Disney shares (DIS) are listed on the NYSE and all prices are listed in US Dollars. Its last market close was US$190.98 – a decrease of -INF% over the previous week. Here's how to invest if you're based in Australia.

How to buy shares in Disney

1. Compare share trading platforms. To buy shares in a US company from Australia you'll need to find a trading platform that offers access to US stock markets. If you're just starting out, look for a platform with low brokerage and foreign exchange fees.
2. Open and fund your brokerage account. Complete an application with your personal and financial details, like your ID and tax file number. Fund your account with a bank transfer, credit card or debit card.
3. Search for Disney. Find the share by name or ticker symbol: DIS. Research its history to confirm it's a solid investment against your financial goals.
4. Purchase now or later. Buy today with a market order or use a limit order to delay your purchase until Disney reaches your desired price. To spread out your risk, look into dollar-cost averaging, which smooths out buying at consistent intervals and amounts.
5. Decide on how many to buy. At last close price of US$190.98, weigh your budget against a diversified portfolio that can minimise risk through the market's ups and downs. You may be able to buy a fractional share of Disney, depending on your broker.
6. Check in on your investment. Congratulations, you own a part of Disney. Optimise your portfolio by tracking how your stock — and even the business — performs with an eye on the long term. You may be eligible for dividends and shareholder voting rights on directors and management that can affect your stock.

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Disney share price

Use our graph to track the performance of DIS stocks over time.

Disney shares at a glance

• Key figures

Information last updated 2021-03-02.

52-week range	US$79.07 - US$200.6
50-day moving average	US$180.6921
200-day moving average	US$150.7806
Target price	US$205.06
PE ratio	51.2183
Dividend yield	US$0.88 (0.45%)
Earnings per share (TTM)	US$2.969

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The value of your investments can fall as well as rise and you may get back less than you invested. Past performance is no indication of future results.

Is it a good time to buy Disney stock?

The technical analysis gauge below displays real-time ratings for the timeframes you select. This is not a recommendation, however. It represents a technical analysis based on the most popular technical indicators: Moving Averages, Oscillators and Pivots. Finder might not concur and takes no responsibility.

Technical Analysis of The Walt Disney Company by TradingView

Disney price performance over time

Historical closes compared with the close of $190.98 on 2021-02-25

1 week (2021-02-26)	1.03%
1 month (2021-02-08)	0.52%
3 months (2020-12-07)	24.27%
6 months (2020-09-04)	44.69%

1 year (2020-03-06)	65.68%
2 years (2019-03-07)	67.51%
3 years (2018-03-07)	84.36%
5 years (2016-03-07)	92.15%

Is Disney under- or over-valued?

Valuing Disney stock is incredibly difficult, and any metric has to be viewed as part of a bigger picture of Disney's overall performance. However, analysts commonly use some key metrics to help gauge the value of a stock.

Disney's P/E ratio

Disney's current share price divided by its per-share earnings (EPS) over a 12-month period gives a "trailing price/earnings ratio" of roughly 51x. In other words, Disney shares trade at around 51x recent earnings.

That's relatively high compared to, say, the trailing 12-month P/E ratio for the NASDAQ 100 at the end of 2019 (27.29). The high P/E ratio could mean that investors are optimistic about the outlook for the shares or simply that they're over-valued.

Disney's PEG ratio

Disney's "price/earnings-to-growth ratio" can be calculated by dividing its P/E ratio by its growth – to give 4.6812. A low ratio can be interpreted as meaning the shares offer better value, while a higher ratio can be interpreted as meaning the shares offer worse value.

The PEG ratio provides a broader view than just the P/E ratio, as it gives more insight into Disney's future profitability. By accounting for growth, it could also help you if you're comparing the share prices of multiple high-growth companies.

Disney's EBITDA

Disney's EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) is US$7.1 billion (£5.1 billion).

The EBITDA is a measure of a Disney's overall financial performance and is widely used to measure a its profitability.

Disney financials

Revenue TTM	US$60.8 billion
Operating margin TTM	2.88%
Gross profit TTM	US$21.5 billion
Return on assets TTM	0.54%
Return on equity TTM	-4.54%
Profit margin	-8.15%
Book value	46.339
Market capitalisation	US$352.1 billion

TTM: trailing 12 months

Shorting Disney shares

There are currently 18.6 million Disney shares held short by investors – that's known as Disney's "short interest". This figure is 0.2% down from 18.6 million last month.

There are a few different ways that this level of interest in shorting Disney shares can be evaluated.

Disney's "short interest ratio" (SIR)

Disney's "short interest ratio" (SIR) is the quantity of Disney shares currently shorted divided by the average quantity of Disney shares traded daily (recently around 11.2 million). Disney's SIR currently stands at 1.66. In other words for every 100,000 Disney shares traded daily on the market, roughly 1660 shares are currently held short.

However Disney's short interest can also be evaluated against the total number of Disney shares, or, against the total number of tradable Disney shares (the shares that aren't held by "insiders" or major long-term shareholders – also known as the "float"). In this case Disney's short interest could be expressed as 0.01% of the outstanding shares (for every 100,000 Disney shares in existence, roughly 10 shares are currently held short) or 0.0102% of the tradable shares (for every 100,000 tradable Disney shares, roughly 10 shares are currently held short).

Such a low SIR usually points to an optimistic outlook for the share price, with fewer people currently willing to bet against Disney.

Find out more about how you can short Disney stock.

Disney's environmental, social and governance track record

Environmental, social and governance (known as ESG) criteria are a set of three factors used to measure the sustainability and social impact of companies like Disney.

When it comes to ESG scores, lower is better, and lower scores are generally associated with lower risk for would-be investors.

Disney's total ESG risk score

Total ESG risk: 23.2

Socially conscious investors use ESG scores to screen how an investment aligns with their worldview, and Disney's overall score of 23.2 (as at 01/01/2019) is excellent – landing it in it in the 16th percentile of companies rated in the same sector.

ESG scores are increasingly used to estimate the level of risk a company like Disney is exposed to within the areas of "environmental" (carbon footprint, resource use etc.), "social" (health and safety, human rights etc.), and "governance" (anti-corruption, tax transparency etc.).

Disney's environmental score

Environmental score: 6.53/100

Disney's environmental score of 6.53 puts it squarely in the 8th percentile of companies rated in the same sector. This could suggest that Disney is a leader in its sector terms of its environmental impact, and exposed to a lower level of risk.

Disney's social score

Social score: 13.06/100

Disney's social score of 13.06 puts it squarely in the 8th percentile of companies rated in the same sector. This could suggest that Disney is a leader in its sector when it comes to taking good care of its workforce and the communities it impacts.

Disney's governance score

Governance score: 15.61/100

Disney's governance score puts it squarely in the 8th percentile of companies rated in the same sector. That could suggest that Disney is a leader in its sector when it comes to responsible management and strategy, and exposed to a lower level of risk.

Disney's controversy score

Controversy score: 2/5

ESG scores also evaluate any incidences of controversy that a company has been involved in. Disney scored a 2 out of 5 for controversy – the second-highest score possible, reflecting that Disney has, for the most part, managed to keep its nose clean.

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) summary

The Walt Disney Company was last rated for ESG on: 2019-01-01.

Total ESG score	23.2
Total ESG percentile	15.68
Environmental score	6.53
Environmental score percentile	8
Social score	13.06
Social score percentile	8
Governance score	15.61
Governance score percentile	8
Level of controversy	2

Disney share dividends

We're not expecting Disney to pay a dividend over the next 12 months.

Have Disney's shares ever split?

Disney's shares were split on a 10000:9865 basis on 13 June 2007. So if you had owned 9865 shares the day before before the split, the next day you'd have owned 10000 shares. This wouldn't directly have changed the overall worth of your Disney shares – just the quantity. However, indirectly, the new 1.4% lower share price could have impacted the market appetite for Disney shares which in turn could have impacted Disney's share price.

Disney share price volatility

Over the last 12 months, Disney's shares have ranged in value from as little as US$79.07 up to US$200.6. A popular way to gauge a stock's volatility is its "beta".

Beta is a measure of a share's volatility in relation to the market. The market (NYSE average) beta is 1, while Disney's is 1.198. This would suggest that Disney's shares are a little bit more volatile than the average for this exchange and represent, relatively-speaking, a slightly higher risk (but potentially also market-beating returns).

Disney overview

The Walt Disney Company, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an entertainment company worldwide. The company's Media Networks segment operates domestic cable networks under the Disney, ESPN, Freeform, FX, and National Geographic brands; and television broadcast network under the ABC brand, as well as eight domestic television stations. This segment is also involved in the television production and distribution. Its Parks, Experiences and Products segment operates theme parks and resorts, such as Walt Disney World Resort in Florida; Disneyland Resort in California; Disneyland Paris; Hong Kong Disneyland Resort; and Shanghai Disney Resort; Disney Cruise Line, Disney Vacation Club, National Geographic Expeditions, and Adventures by Disney and Aulani, a Disney resort and spa in Hawaii, as well as licenses its intellectual property to a third party for the operations of the Tokyo Disney Resort in Japan. The company's Studio Entertainment segment produces and distributes motion pictures under the Walt Disney Pictures, Twentieth Century Studios, Marvel, Lucasfilm, Pixar, Searchlight Pictures, and Blue Sky Studios banners; develops, produces, and licenses live entertainment events; produces and distributes music; and provides post-production services through Industrial Light & Magic and Skywalker Sound. Its Direct-To-Consumer & International segment operates international television networks and channels comprising Disney, ESPN, Fox, National Geographic, and Star; direct-to-consumer videos streaming services consisting of Disney+/Disney+Hotstar, ESPN+, and Hulu; and operates branded apps and Websites, such as Disney Movie Club and Disney Digital Network, as well as provides streaming technology support services. The company was founded in 1923 and is based in Burbank, California.

Frequently asked questions

• What percentage of Disney is owned by insiders or institutions?

  Currently 0.203% of Disney shares are held by insiders and 65.574% by institutions.

• When does the fiscal year end for Disney?

  Disney's fiscal year ends in September.

• Where is Disney based?

  Disney's address is: 500 South Buena Vista Street, Burbank, CA, United States, 91521

• What is Disney's ISIN number?

  Disney's international securities identification number is: US2546871060

• What is Disney's CUSIP number?

  Disney's Committee on Uniform Securities Identification Procedures number is: 254687106