Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" by Analysts

Key Points

• Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) is rated as a "Hold" by multiple analysts, with a consensus from thirty research firms, which includes three sell, fourteen hold, twelve buy, and one strong buy ratings.
• The average price target for Comcast shares among analysts is $40.06, but recent reports have seen target price reductions from firms like Morgan Stanley and Bank of America.
• Comcast announced a quarterly dividend of $0.33 per share, equating to an annual yield of 4.2%, with the payment scheduled for October 22nd.

Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Hold" by the thirty research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $40.0556.

CMCSA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Comcast from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Comcast from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Barclays cut their target price on Comcast from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Bank of America decreased their price target on Comcast from $38.00 to $36.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Finally, UBS Group set a $43.00 price objective on Comcast in a research report on Friday.

Comcast Price Performance

Shares of Comcast stock opened at $31.09 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $114.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $32.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $34.09. Comcast has a one year low of $30.38 and a one year high of $45.31.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The cable giant reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $30.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $29.81 billion. Comcast had a return on equity of 18.86% and a net margin of 18.44%.Comcast's quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.21 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Comcast will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

Comcast Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be paid a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 1st. Comcast's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.82%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Comcast

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CMCSA. Foster Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Comcast by 4.0% in the second quarter. Foster Group Inc. now owns 7,418 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $265,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the period. Toth Financial Advisory Corp raised its position in Comcast by 9.0% during the 1st quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 3,630 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $134,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Argyle Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Comcast by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Argyle Capital Management LLC now owns 61,186 shares of the cable giant's stock worth $2,184,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Clearstead Trust LLC grew its position in shares of Comcast by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 6,142 shares of the cable giant's stock worth $227,000 after buying an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. increased its stake in shares of Comcast by 2.9% during the second quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 10,809 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $386,000 after buying an additional 305 shares during the period. 84.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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