Royal Bank Of Canada Initiates Coverage on Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada has initiated coverage on Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) with a "sector perform" rating and a price target of $38.00, indicating a potential upside of 12.06% from the current stock price.
• Comcast's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $1.25, exceeding analyst expectations of $1.18, with quarterly revenue of $30.31 billion compared to the forecast of $29.81 billion.
• Despite mixed ratings from analysts, Comcast maintains an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $40.63, with 12 "Buy" ratings versus 3 "Sell" ratings issued.

Analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on shares of Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Get Free Report) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm set a "sector perform" rating and a $38.00 price target on the cable giant's stock. Royal Bank Of Canada's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 14.94% from the company's previous close.

CMCSA has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Comcast in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Comcast from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Moffett Nathanson upped their target price on shares of Comcast from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Rothschild & Co Redburn cut their target price on shares of Comcast from $44.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Comcast from $40.00 to $36.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $40.56.

Comcast Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of Comcast stock traded down $0.34 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $33.06. 23,842,060 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 19,553,770. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $33.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $34.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The company has a market cap of $122.06 billion, a PE ratio of 5.46, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.93. Comcast has a twelve month low of $31.03 and a twelve month high of $45.31.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $29.81 billion. Comcast had a return on equity of 18.86% and a net margin of 18.44%.The company's revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.21 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Comcast will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CMCSA. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Comcast by 150.9% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 166,265 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $6,240,000 after purchasing an additional 99,986 shares during the period. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Comcast by 902.2% during the 4th quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 65,780 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $2,469,000 after purchasing an additional 73,980 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Comcast by 427.8% during the 4th quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 245,568 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $9,216,000 after purchasing an additional 199,038 shares during the period. Laurion Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Comcast by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Laurion Capital Management LP now owns 555,945 shares of the cable giant's stock worth $20,865,000 after acquiring an additional 5,945 shares during the period. Finally, MJP Associates Inc. ADV lifted its stake in shares of Comcast by 265.8% in the 4th quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV now owns 18,279 shares of the cable giant's stock worth $686,000 after acquiring an additional 13,282 shares during the period. 84.32% of the stock is 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.