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

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

Several other equities analysts have also commented on CMCSA. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Comcast from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Comcast in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. They set a buy rating and a $44.00 price target on the stock. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Comcast from a neutral rating to an underperform rating and set a $34.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Comcast from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of Comcast from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $45.58.

Comcast Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of Comcast stock opened at $41.02 on Tuesday. 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 has a 1 year low of $36.43 and a 1 year high of $47.11. The firm has a market cap of $160.95 billion, a PE ratio of 10.85, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.62.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The cable giant reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $29.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.02 billion. Comcast had a net margin of 12.46% and a return on equity of 20.17%. The firm’s revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.13 EPS. Analysts expect that Comcast will post 4.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 2nd. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.02%. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.80%.

Institutional Trading of Comcast

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Steph & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Comcast by 154.6% during the 1st quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 611 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares during the period. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Comcast in the second quarter worth $26,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in Comcast in the second quarter worth $27,000. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A purchased a new position in Comcast during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings 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 valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Comcast Company Profile

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.