Paramount Global’s (PARA) Hold Rating Reiterated at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reiterated their hold rating on shares of Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) in a report published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on PARA. Wells Fargo & Company raised Paramount Global from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $10.00 to $11.00 in a research report on Friday, August 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Paramount Global from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of Paramount Global in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Guggenheim dropped their price objective on Paramount Global from $19.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Paramount Global from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.40.

Paramount Global Price Performance

NASDAQ:PARA opened at $11.16 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.44 billion, a PE ratio of -1.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.74. Paramount Global has a 1-year low of $9.54 and a 1-year high of $17.50. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $10.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $11.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85.

Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.25. Paramount Global had a positive return on equity of 5.81% and a negative net margin of 18.89%. The firm had revenue of $6.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.30 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Paramount Global will post 1.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paramount Global Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.79%. Paramount Global’s dividend payout ratio is presently -2.43%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PARA. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Paramount Global by 3.9% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 24,682 shares of the company’s stock valued at $291,000 after acquiring an additional 934 shares during the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lifted its stake in shares of Paramount Global by 4.3% in the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 99,705 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,174,000 after acquiring an additional 4,152 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its position in Paramount Global by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 160,114 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,885,000 after purchasing an additional 2,440 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Paramount Global by 45.1% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 15,270 shares of the company’s stock worth $180,000 after purchasing an additional 4,748 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Paramount Global by 109.9% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 100,473 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,183,000 after purchasing an additional 52,614 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.00% of the company’s stock.

About Paramount Global

Paramount Global operates as a media, streaming, and entertainment company worldwide. It operates through TV Media, Direct-to-Consumer, and Filmed Entertainment segments. The TV Media segment operates CBS Television Network, a domestic broadcast television network; CBS Stations, a television station; and international free-to-air networks comprising Network 10, Channel 5, Telefe, and Chilevisión; domestic premium and basic cable networks, such as Paramount+ with Showtime, MTV, Comedy Central, Paramount Network, The Smithsonian Channel, Nickelodeon, BET Media Group, and CBS Sports Network; and international extensions of these brands.