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

Shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen research firms that are 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 given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $47.39.

CMCSA has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Comcast from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Comcast from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley downgraded Comcast from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $48.00 to $45.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Comcast from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Comcast in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th.

Comcast Stock Performance

Shares of CMCSA stock opened at $37.67 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $40.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $144.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.01. Comcast has a 12-month low of $36.43 and a 12-month high of $47.11.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The cable giant reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $32.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.78 billion. Comcast had a net margin of 11.92% and a return on equity of 19.81%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Comcast will post 4.26 EPS for the current year.

Comcast Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 8th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.29%. Comcast’s payout ratio is 33.33%.

Insider Activity at Comcast

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 in the company, 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 through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian L. Roberts sold 234,464 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were 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 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. Corporate insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Comcast

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CMCSA. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Comcast during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Comcast during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Comcast by 365.4% during the third quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 726 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in Comcast during the third quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Comcast by 220.3% during the third quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 759 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. 84.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.