Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $47.33.

A number of research firms have issued reports on CMCSA. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Comcast in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Loop Capital cut their price objective on shares of Comcast from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Comcast from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Comcast from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Comcast from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st.

Comcast Stock Performance

Shares of CMCSA stock opened at $36.36 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $139.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.77, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $40.25. Comcast has a 52 week low of $36.24 and a 52 week high of $47.11.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The cable giant reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.06. The business 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%. Comcast’s revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Comcast will post 4.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Comcast Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 8th. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Comcast

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Comcast

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Comcast in the second quarter worth $26,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in Comcast in the third quarter worth $30,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Comcast by 365.4% in the third 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 period. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Comcast by 220.3% in the third 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 during the period. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC grew its holdings in Comcast by 54.8% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 814 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the period. 84.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.