Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Earns Equal Weight Rating from Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Comcast with an Equal Weight rating and a $31 price target, implying roughly a 7.7% upside from the current share price.
• Comcast beat EPS estimates ($0.84 vs. $0.75) while revenue was roughly flat at $32.31B (+1.2% y/y); the stock trades at a low valuation with a P/E of 5.36 and a market cap near $103.5B.
• Analyst views are mixed—10 Buys, 16 Holds and 2 Sells with an average price target of $34.81—and CEO Michael Cavanagh sold 57,947 shares (~$1.89M), reducing his stake by about 8.5%; insiders own 1.32% while institutions hold ~84.3%.

Equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Get Free Report) in a research note issued on Thursday. The firm set an "equal weight" rating and a $31.00 price target on the cable giant's stock. Morgan Stanley's price objective points to a potential upside of 7.72% from the company's current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on CMCSA. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Comcast from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Comcast from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Comcast from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Bank of America upgraded Comcast from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $31.00 to $37.00 in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Benchmark reduced their target price on Comcast from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Comcast currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $34.81.

Comcast Price Performance

CMCSA traded up $0.48 on Thursday, hitting $28.78. 1,108,965 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 32,851,461. The business's fifty day moving average is $30.05 and its 200 day moving average is $29.15. Comcast has a fifty-two week low of $25.75 and a fifty-two week high of $36.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $103.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.80.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The cable giant reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $32.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $32.35 billion. Comcast had a return on equity of 16.86% and a net margin of 16.17%.The company's revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.96 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Comcast will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Comcast news, CEO Michael J. Cavanagh sold 57,947 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.66, for a total value of $1,892,549.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 622,336 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,325,493.76. The trade was a 8.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.32% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Comcast

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Imprint Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Comcast in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. purchased a new position in Comcast during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. United Financial Planning Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Comcast in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Comcast in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Comcast by 212.6% during the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,016 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 691 shares during the period. 84.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Comcast

Comcast Corporation NASDAQ: CMCSA is a diversified global media and technology company headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its principal operations are organized around Comcast Cable, which provides broadband internet, video, voice and wireless services to residential and business customers in the United States under the Xfinity and Comcast Business brands, and NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment group that develops, produces and distributes content across broadcast and cable networks, film, and streaming platforms.

NBCUniversal's assets include the NBC broadcast network, a portfolio of cable channels, Universal Pictures and other film and television production businesses, and the Peacock streaming service.

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