StockNews.com Lowers Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) to Buy

StockNews.com cut shares of Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning.

CMCSA has been the topic of several other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Comcast in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. They issued a buy rating and a $44.00 price target on the stock. KeyCorp decreased their price target on Comcast from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays cut their price objective on Comcast from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Comcast from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn lowered Comcast from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $45.78.

Comcast Stock Performance

Shares of CMCSA stock opened at $39.36 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $152.42 billion, a PE ratio of 10.41, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.01. Comcast has a one year low of $36.43 and a one year high of $47.11. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $39.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.66.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The cable giant reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.09. Comcast had a return on equity of 20.17% and a net margin of 12.46%. The business had revenue of $29.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.13 EPS. Comcast’s quarterly revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Comcast will post 4.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Comcast Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 2nd. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.15%. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.80%.

Institutional Trading of Comcast

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CMCSA. Steph & Co. raised its stake in Comcast by 154.6% during the 1st quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 611 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Comcast during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Comcast during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A acquired a new stake in Comcast during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Comcast by 204.7% during the 2nd quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 777 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares during the period. 84.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.