Analysts Set Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Price Target at $43.83

Shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have issued a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $43.83.

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on CMCSA shares. Macquarie lowered their target price on shares of Comcast from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank lowered shares of Comcast from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $48.00 to $44.50 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $50.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st.

Comcast Price Performance

CMCSA stock opened at $36.75 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.68. Comcast has a 1 year low of $32.50 and a 1 year high of $45.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $138.95 billion, a PE ratio of 8.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.00. The company’s 50-day moving average is $35.83 and its 200-day moving average is $39.08.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.08. Comcast had a net margin of 13.09% and a return on equity of 19.98%. Equities research analysts expect that Comcast will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. This is a boost from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.81%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Comcast

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Comcast in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Comcast by 269.9% in the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 688 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 502 shares during the period. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in shares of Comcast in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Comcast in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Comcast during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Hedge funds and other 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.