Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Price Target Raised to $45.00 at Scotiabank

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) had its target price raised by Scotiabank from $44.50 to $45.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Scotiabank currently has a sector perform rating on the cable giant’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on CMCSA. Rosenblatt Securities reduced their target price on Comcast from $45.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Comcast from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Comcast from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America lowered shares of Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $50.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Comcast from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.10.

Comcast Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CMCSA opened at $32.84 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $124.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.91, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $35.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Comcast has a twelve month low of $32.38 and a twelve month high of $45.31.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.08. Comcast had a return on equity of 19.98% and a net margin of 13.09%. Research analysts predict that Comcast will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be given a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.02%. This is a boost from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.81%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Comcast

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in Comcast during the 4th quarter worth about $3,835,226,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Comcast during the fourth quarter worth about $743,681,000. Amundi raised its position in Comcast by 147.9% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 24,086,671 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $895,499,000 after buying an additional 14,369,056 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Comcast by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 141,680,277 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $5,317,167,000 after acquiring an additional 11,255,683 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its position in Comcast by 55,334.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 8,273,052 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $345,565,000 after acquiring an additional 8,258,128 shares during 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.