Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy”

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report released on Saturday morning.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on CMCSA. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Comcast from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Macquarie upped their target price on Comcast from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Barclays lifted their price target on Comcast from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Scotiabank upgraded Comcast from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $47.75 to $48.00 in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their target price on Comcast from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.39.

Comcast Price Performance

CMCSA stock opened at $37.67 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $144.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.01. Comcast has a 52-week low of $36.43 and a 52-week high of $47.11. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The cable giant reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.06. Comcast had a return on equity of 19.81% and a net margin of 11.92%. The business 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 company posted $1.08 earnings per share. Comcast’s revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Comcast will post 4.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 8th will be given a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 8th. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Comcast news, CEO Brian L. Roberts sold 234,464 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.66, for a total value of $10,002,234.24. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,669,928 shares in the company, valued at $284,539,128.48. This represents a 3.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 25,537 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.59, for a total value of $1,087,620.83. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 534,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,779,218.91. The trade was a 4.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Comcast

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Comcast during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in Comcast during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Comcast by 365.4% during the third quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 726 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in shares of Comcast in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

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.