Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Rating Lowered to “Sector Perform” at Scotiabank

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) was downgraded by research analysts at Scotiabank from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a report released on Monday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have a $44.50 price target on the cable giant’s stock, down from their prior price target of $48.00. Scotiabank’s price target points to a potential upside of 32.64% from the stock’s previous close.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. BNP Paribas raised Comcast from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $35.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup cut their price objective on Comcast from $47.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Comcast from $45.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Pivotal Research boosted their price target on shares of Comcast from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Comcast to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Comcast currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.13.

Comcast Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CMCSA opened at $33.55 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $38.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.02. Comcast has a 12-month low of $32.50 and a 12-month high of $45.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company has a market capitalization of $128.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.08, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.00.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.08. Comcast had a net margin of 13.09% and a return on equity of 19.98%. Sell-side analysts expect that Comcast will post 4.4 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Comcast news, 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 transaction, the president now owns 534,849 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,779,218.91. This represents a 4.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian L. Roberts sold 234,464 shares of Comcast stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.66, for a total transaction of $10,002,234.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,669,928 shares in the company, valued at approximately $284,539,128.48. The trade was a 3.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Comcast by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 44,944 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $1,687,000 after purchasing an additional 1,751 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its stake in shares of Comcast by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 609,300 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $22,867,000 after purchasing an additional 23,937 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Comcast by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 374,829 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $14,067,000 after buying an additional 45,196 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in Comcast by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 42,222 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $1,585,000 after buying an additional 1,645 shares in the last quarter. Finally, South Dakota Investment Council lifted its position in shares of Comcast by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. South Dakota Investment Council now owns 729,186 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $27,366,000 after acquiring an additional 70,300 shares during the period. 84.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.