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

Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $47.33.

CMCSA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Comcast from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Comcast in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Macquarie restated a “neutral” rating and set a $42.00 target price on shares of Comcast in a report on Monday. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Comcast in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Pivotal Research raised their price objective on shares of Comcast from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st.

Comcast Price Performance

Comcast stock opened at $37.17 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $142.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.99, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.01. The business has a 50-day moving average of $40.83 and a 200-day moving average of $40.25. Comcast has a 1 year low of $36.24 and a 1 year high of $47.11.

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

Comcast Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 8th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 8th. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.33%.

Insider Activity

In related news, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 25,537 shares of Comcast stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.59, for a total transaction of $1,087,620.83. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 534,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,779,218.91. The trade was a 4.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian L. Roberts sold 234,464 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.66, for a total transaction of $10,002,234.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,669,928 shares in the company, valued at approximately $284,539,128.48. This represents a 3.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Comcast

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new stake in Comcast in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Comcast in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Comcast by 365.4% in the third quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 726 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 570 shares during the period. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in Comcast during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Comcast by 220.3% in the 3rd quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 759 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 522 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.