Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the nineteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation, ten have given a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $47.33.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on CMCSA shares. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Comcast in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Pivotal Research raised their price target on shares of Comcast from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Comcast from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Comcast from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Comcast from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st.

Comcast Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ CMCSA opened at $36.36 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $139.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $40.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $40.25. Comcast has a 1 year low of $36.24 and a 1 year high of $47.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The cable giant reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $32.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.78 billion. Comcast had a net margin of 11.92% and a return on equity of 19.81%. The business’s revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Comcast will post 4.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 8th will be given a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 8th. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.33%.

Insider Activity at Comcast

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Comcast

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new position in Comcast in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in Comcast in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake 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 buying an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Comcast by 220.3% in the 3rd quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 759 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Comcast by 54.8% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 814 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Comcast Company Profile

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.