Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the eighteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $45.78.

CMCSA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Pivotal Research decreased their price target on shares of Comcast from $48.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. KeyCorp reduced their target price on Comcast from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. BNP Paribas lowered Comcast from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $34.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Comcast from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Comcast from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Comcast

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bollard Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Comcast by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Bollard Group LLC now owns 36,996 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $1,622,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Comcast by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 5,801 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $254,000 after buying an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Laraway Financial Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of Comcast by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Laraway Financial Advisors Inc now owns 13,150 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $577,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Comcast by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,754 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $382,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verum Partners LLC raised its holdings in Comcast by 4.9% during the second quarter. Verum Partners LLC now owns 5,663 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $222,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. 84.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Comcast Stock Performance

Comcast stock opened at $39.61 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $39.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.85. Comcast has a 52 week low of $36.43 and a 52 week high of $47.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $155.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.48, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 12.46% and a return on equity of 20.17%. The company had revenue of $29.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.13 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Comcast will post 4.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Comcast Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 2nd. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.13%. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.80%.

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.