Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Shares Gap Up Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $42.24, but opened at $45.21. Comcast shares last traded at $43.75, with a volume of 4,790,316 shares.

The cable giant reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.06. Comcast had a net margin of 12.46% and a return on equity of 20.17%. The firm had revenue of $32.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. Comcast’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis.

Comcast Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 8th will be given a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 8th. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CMCSA. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Comcast in a report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Comcast from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Comcast from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Pivotal Research increased their price target on shares of Comcast from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Macquarie restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of Comcast in a research report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Comcast has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.63.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Comcast

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board increased its position in Comcast by 25,881.7% during the first quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 10,850,995 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $470,391,000 after buying an additional 10,809,231 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Comcast by 41.7% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 28,016,389 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $1,214,512,000 after acquiring an additional 8,243,302 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its position in Comcast by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 115,703,280 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $5,015,737,000 after purchasing an additional 7,929,963 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its stake in Comcast by 80.9% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 10,542,253 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $457,007,000 after purchasing an additional 4,714,586 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Comcast by 92.1% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 8,722,620 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $339,223,000 after purchasing an additional 4,182,525 shares in the last quarter. 84.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Comcast Price Performance

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $40.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The company has a market capitalization of $168.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.59, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.01.

About Comcast

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.