Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Barclays Analyst Says

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) had its price target lifted by Barclays from $40.00 to $42.00 in a report published on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the cable giant’s stock.

CMCSA has been the topic of a number of other research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Comcast from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Comcast in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Macquarie reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of Comcast in a research note on Friday. Pivotal Research upped their price objective on Comcast from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Scotiabank raised Comcast from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $47.75 to $48.00 in a research report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Comcast presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.75.

Comcast Price Performance

CMCSA opened at $42.53 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $164.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.00. Comcast has a 12 month low of $36.43 and a 12 month high of $47.11. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $40.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.60.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The cable giant reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.06. Comcast had a return on equity of 19.81% and a net margin of 11.92%. The company had revenue of $32.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.78 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. Comcast’s revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Comcast will post 4.27 EPS for the current year.

Comcast Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 8th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.92%. Comcast’s payout ratio is 33.33%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Comcast

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new position in Comcast during the second quarter worth $26,000. 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 valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Comcast by 220.3% in the 3rd quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 759 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 522 shares during the period. IAG Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Comcast by 204.7% during the second quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 777 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 522 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Archer Investment Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Comcast by 177.1% during the second quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 812 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 519 shares during the period. 84.32% of the stock is owned by 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.