Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Rating Increased to Sector Outperform at Scotiabank

Scotiabank upgraded shares of Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) from a sector perform rating to a sector outperform rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have $48.00 target price on the cable giant’s stock, up from their prior target price of $47.75.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. KeyCorp dropped their price target on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Macquarie reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $40.00 target price on shares of Comcast in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Pivotal Research lowered their price target on Comcast from $48.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Comcast in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Comcast in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.63.

Comcast Stock Down 0.3 %

Comcast stock opened at $43.56 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. Comcast has a 1-year low of $36.43 and a 1-year high of $47.11. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.58. The company has a market capitalization of $168.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.00.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The cable giant reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.06. Comcast had a return on equity of 19.81% and a net margin of 11.92%. The company had revenue of $32.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.78 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Comcast will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 8th will be given 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 2.85%. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.33%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new position in Comcast during the second quarter worth $26,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Comcast by 365.4% in the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 726 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Comcast by 220.3% during the 3rd quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 759 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Comcast by 204.7% in the second quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 777 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Archer Investment Corp boosted its position in Comcast by 177.1% in the second quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 812 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 519 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.