Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Strong-Buy

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Wednesday.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on CMCSA. Benchmark restated a buy rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Comcast in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Comcast from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a neutral rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Comcast in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Pivotal Research decreased their target price on Comcast from $48.00 to $47.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Macquarie reiterated a neutral rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of Comcast in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Comcast has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $45.78.

Comcast Price Performance

CMCSA opened at $38.67 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $151.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.23, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50-day moving average of $39.20 and a 200-day moving average of $39.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.66. Comcast has a 1-year low of $36.43 and a 1-year high of $47.11.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The cable giant reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.09. Comcast had a return on equity of 20.17% and a net margin of 12.46%. The firm had revenue of $29.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.13 earnings per share. Comcast’s quarterly revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Comcast will post 4.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 2nd. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.80%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Comcast

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Comcast during the second quarter valued at approximately $68,000. Farmers National Bank raised its stake in Comcast by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Farmers National Bank now owns 117,941 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $4,619,000 after purchasing an additional 2,505 shares during the period. Souders Financial Advisors raised its stake in Comcast by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Souders Financial Advisors now owns 80,052 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $3,135,000 after purchasing an additional 3,023 shares during the period. Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Comcast in the second quarter worth $1,736,000. Finally, Next Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Comcast by 6.5% in the second quarter. Next Capital Management LLC now owns 14,918 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $584,000 after buying an additional 905 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.