Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Receives $42.10 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-two research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $42.10.

A number of analysts have commented on CMCSA shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut Comcast from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $37.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Argus lowered shares of Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. KeyCorp lowered their price target on shares of Comcast from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Comcast from $44.00 to $39.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $37.00 price objective on shares of Comcast in a research report on Friday, April 25th.

Comcast Stock Performance

CMCSA opened at $34.70 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $34.39 and its 200 day moving average is $36.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company has a market cap of $129.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.36, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.95. Comcast has a 12-month low of $31.44 and a 12-month high of $45.31.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The cable giant reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $29.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $29.82 billion. Comcast had a net margin of 13.09% and a return on equity of 19.98%. The company’s revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.04 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Comcast will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

Comcast Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 2nd will be issued a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 2nd. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.43%.

Institutional Trading of Comcast

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CMCSA. eCIO Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Comcast in the 1st quarter worth approximately $167,000. First Hawaiian Bank boosted its stake in Comcast by 13.1% during the first quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 186,780 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $6,892,000 after buying an additional 21,652 shares during the period. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Comcast by 45.5% during the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,892 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 592 shares during the period. Modern Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Comcast by 35.3% during the first quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,456 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $533,000 after acquiring an additional 3,769 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in shares of Comcast by 22.3% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,087,679 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $39,902,000 after acquiring an additional 198,377 shares during the period. 84.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.