Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Trading Up 1.7% on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)’s share price traded up 1.7% on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $38.54 and last traded at $38.50. 9,578,640 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 54% from the average session volume of 20,703,502 shares. The stock had previously closed at $37.87.

The cable giant reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $30.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $29.83 billion. Comcast had a return on equity of 19.75% and a net margin of 12.66%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.92 earnings per share.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CMCSA has been the subject of several research reports. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $50.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Comcast in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Comcast from $47.00 to $43.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Comcast in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut Comcast from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.45.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 114,749 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.10, for a total transaction of $5,289,928.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Comcast

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CMCSA. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Comcast by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,492 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $372,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Comcast by 17.5% in the fourth quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,478 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Beaumont Asset Management L.L.C. increased its position in Comcast by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Beaumont Asset Management L.L.C. now owns 14,141 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $620,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the period. Keystone Financial Services raised its holdings in Comcast by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Keystone Financial Services now owns 20,432 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $896,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ironwood Financial llc lifted its position in shares of Comcast by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Ironwood Financial llc now owns 15,449 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $685,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Comcast Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $153.00 billion, a PE ratio of 10.35, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.98. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $41.64 and its 200-day moving average is $42.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

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.