Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) Upgraded to “Equal Weight” by Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating in a report released on Friday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has $11.00 target price on the stock, up from their previous target price of $10.00.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on PARA. StockNews.com upgraded Paramount Global from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Benchmark restated a buy rating and issued a $19.00 price objective on shares of Paramount Global in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a neutral rating and issued a $14.00 price objective on shares of Paramount Global in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Paramount Global from $13.00 to $11.50 and set an in-line rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn cut Paramount Global from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $12.94.

Paramount Global Trading Up 0.9 %

PARA traded up $0.09 during trading on Friday, hitting $10.30. 14,193,206 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,767,447. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Paramount Global has a 1 year low of $9.54 and a 1 year high of $17.50. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $11.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.75. The firm has a market cap of $6.86 billion, a P/E ratio of -68.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.78.

Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $6.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.21 billion. Paramount Global had a negative net margin of 0.15% and a positive return on equity of 3.35%. As a group, analysts expect that Paramount Global will post 1.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paramount Global Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Paramount Global’s payout ratio is -133.33%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Paramount Global

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Archer Investment Corp purchased a new position in shares of Paramount Global in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paramount Global in the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in Paramount Global during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Paramount Global during the second quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Paramount Global during the fourth quarter worth $44,000. 73.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.