Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have issued a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $43.83.

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on CMCSA shares. Citigroup lowered their price target on Comcast from $47.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. BNP Paribas upgraded Comcast from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $35.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Comcast from $45.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Seaport Res Ptn raised Comcast from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $50.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st.

Comcast Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CMCSA opened at $36.50 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $138.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.80, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Comcast has a 52-week low of $32.50 and a 52-week high of $45.31. The business has a fifty day moving average of $35.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $39.10.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.08. Comcast had a return on equity of 19.98% and a net margin of 13.09%. On average, research analysts expect that Comcast will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be paid a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. This is a boost from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.81%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Comcast

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Comcast by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 141,680,277 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $5,317,167,000 after purchasing an additional 11,255,683 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Comcast by 5.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 117,420,328 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $4,904,647,000 after purchasing an additional 6,062,658 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Comcast during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,835,226,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Comcast by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 85,812,139 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $3,212,244,000 after purchasing an additional 1,006,272 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dodge & Cox lifted its stake in Comcast by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 79,102,667 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $2,968,723,000 after purchasing an additional 5,039,823 shares during 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.