Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Scotiabank Analyst Says

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Get Free Report) had its price target upped by investment analysts at Scotiabank from $44.50 to $45.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "sector perform" rating on the cable giant's stock. Scotiabank's target price points to a potential upside of 28.30% from the company's current price.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on CMCSA. Arete Research upgraded Comcast to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Comcast from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Comcast from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley set a $37.00 price objective on Comcast in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, New Street Research cut their price objective on Comcast from $44.00 to $38.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $40.98.

Comcast Stock Down 1.0%

NASDAQ CMCSA traded down $0.35 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $35.08. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,440,116 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,912,018. The firm has a market capitalization of $130.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.62, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. Comcast has a twelve month low of $31.44 and a twelve month high of $45.31. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $34.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $35.46.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The cable giant reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.08. Comcast had a return on equity of 19.70% and a net margin of 12.72%. The company had revenue of $29.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $29.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.04 earnings per share. Comcast's quarterly revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Comcast will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bridge Creek Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Comcast by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bridge Creek Capital Management LLC now owns 94,520 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $3,373,000 after acquiring an additional 1,956 shares during the last quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY boosted its holdings in shares of Comcast by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 1,419,835 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $50,674,000 after acquiring an additional 20,544 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of Comcast by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 251,700 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $8,983,000 after acquiring an additional 5,029 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Comcast by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 185,844 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $6,633,000 after acquiring an additional 11,102 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bell Bank boosted its holdings in Comcast by 13.8% during the second quarter. Bell Bank now owns 8,928 shares of the cable giant's stock worth $319,000 after buying an additional 1,082 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.

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