Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Rating Lowered to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report published on Saturday morning.

CMCSA has been the topic of several other research reports. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on shares of Comcast from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Comcast from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Macquarie increased their price target on Comcast from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Comcast from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Comcast from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.33.

Comcast Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CMCSA opened at $37.49 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $41.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.30. Comcast has a fifty-two week low of $36.43 and a fifty-two week high of $47.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $143.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.01.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The cable giant reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.06. Comcast had a net margin of 11.92% and a return on equity of 19.81%. The business had revenue of $32.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Comcast will post 4.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 8th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 8th. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.33%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Brian L. Roberts sold 234,464 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.66, for a total value of $10,002,234.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 6,669,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $284,539,128.48. This trade represents a 3.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 25,537 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.59, for a total value of $1,087,620.83. Following the sale, the president now owns 534,849 shares in the company, valued at $22,779,218.91. The trade was a 4.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Comcast

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida lifted its stake in shares of Comcast by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida now owns 22,724 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $853,000 after acquiring an additional 2,431 shares during the last quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. lifted its position in shares of Comcast by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 4,000 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $151,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares during the last quarter. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Comcast by 26.7% during the fourth quarter. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. now owns 18,481 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $693,000 after purchasing an additional 3,900 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Comcast by 26.5% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 5,396 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $203,000 after purchasing an additional 1,132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Old Port Advisors increased its stake in Comcast by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 6,910 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $259,000 after buying an additional 325 shares during the period. 84.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.