Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation, ten have given a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $47.33.

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Comcast from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Comcast from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Comcast from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Comcast in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Comcast from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st.

Insider Activity

In related news, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 25,537 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.59, for a total transaction of $1,087,620.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 534,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,779,218.91. This trade represents a 4.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brian L. Roberts sold 234,464 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.66, for a total value of $10,002,234.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,669,928 shares in the company, valued at $284,539,128.48. This trade represents a 3.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Comcast

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Comcast by 904.0% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 254,545 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $10,632,000 after acquiring an additional 229,192 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in Comcast by 15.2% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 171,440 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $7,161,000 after purchasing an additional 22,684 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its position in Comcast by 3.7% during the third quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 1,920,800 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $80,232,000 after purchasing an additional 68,139 shares in the last quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC increased its position in Comcast by 0.7% in the third quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 2,210,469 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $92,331,000 after buying an additional 15,807 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Comcast in the third quarter worth about $2,541,000. 84.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Comcast Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ CMCSA opened at $37.36 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $142.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.04, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72. Comcast has a one year low of $36.15 and a one year high of $47.11. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $39.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $40.17.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last issued its 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 net margin of 11.92% and a return on equity of 19.81%. The company had revenue of $32.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.78 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Comcast will post 4.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.