Scotiabank Upgrades Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) to Sector Outperform

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) was upgraded by Scotiabank from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $48.00 price target on the cable giant’s stock, up from their previous price target of $47.75. Scotiabank’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 9.92% from the company’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. KeyCorp reduced their price target on Comcast from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Pivotal Research reduced their target price on shares of Comcast from $48.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Comcast from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on Comcast from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Comcast in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.60.

Comcast Price Performance

Comcast stock opened at $43.67 on Friday. Comcast has a 12 month low of $36.43 and a 12 month high of $47.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The company has a market capitalization of $169.11 billion, a PE ratio of 11.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $40.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $39.55.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The cable giant reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.06. Comcast had a return on equity of 20.17% and a net margin of 12.46%. The firm had revenue of $32.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.78 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Comcast will post 4.24 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Comcast during the second quarter worth about $26,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in Comcast by 365.4% in the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 726 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Comcast by 220.3% during the third quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 759 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares during the period. IAG Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Comcast by 204.7% during the 2nd quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 777 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Archer Investment Corp raised its holdings in Comcast by 177.1% during the second quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 812 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 519 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

About Comcast

Comcast Corporation operates as a media and technology company worldwide. It operates through Residential Connectivity & Platforms, Business Services Connectivity, Media, Studios, and Theme Parks segments. The Residential Connectivity & Platforms segment provides residential broadband and wireless connectivity services, residential and business video services, sky-branded entertainment television networks, and advertising.