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

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report released on Thursday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Comcast in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Comcast to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Pivotal Research lifted 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. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Comcast from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded Comcast from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $47.75 to $48.00 in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.06.

Comcast Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of CMCSA opened at $38.22 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The company has a market capitalization of $146.25 billion, a PE ratio of 10.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.99. Comcast has a 52-week low of $36.43 and a 52-week high of $47.11.

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

Comcast Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 8th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 8th. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.33%.

Insider Transactions at Comcast

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Comcast

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new stake in Comcast during the 2nd quarter worth $157,000. LRI Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Comcast by 27.9% in the second quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 10,781 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $422,000 after buying an additional 2,354 shares during the last quarter. Waterway Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Comcast by 11.5% during the second quarter. Waterway Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,875 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $426,000 after buying an additional 1,124 shares during the period. RFP Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Comcast by 6.6% during the second quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 10,216 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $400,000 after buying an additional 631 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fullcircle Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Comcast in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,679,000. 84.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.