Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Receives Average Rating of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts broadly rate Comcast “Hold.” Of 28 analysts, 13 recommend holding, 11 recommend buying and four recommend selling; the average 12-month price target is $32.69.
• Comcast shares opened at $22.93, near their one-year low of $21.28, while recent analyst target cuts included UBS to $27 and Goldman Sachs to $26.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations with $1.04 earnings per share and $29.94 billion in revenue, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.33 per share, representing a 5.8% annualized yield.

Shares of Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Hold" by the twenty-eight brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, thirteen have assigned a hold recommendation and eleven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $32.6923.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $27.00 price target (down from $32.00) on shares of Comcast in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Comcast from $29.00 to $26.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $26.00 target price on shares of Comcast and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Comcast from $35.50 to $32.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Scotiabank set a $29.00 price target on Comcast in a research note on Friday, July 24th.

Comcast Stock Performance

Shares of CMCSA stock opened at $22.93 on Tuesday. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $25.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.93. Comcast has a one year low of $21.28 and a one year high of $32.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.37 billion, a PE ratio of 7.42, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The cable giant reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $29.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $29.24 billion. Comcast had a net margin of 8.97% and a return on equity of 14.77%. The company's revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.25 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Comcast will post 3.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Comcast Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.8%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 7th. Comcast's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.72%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Comcast

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA lifted its position in Comcast by 39.4% in the 2nd quarter. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA now owns 64,290 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $1,578,000 after acquiring an additional 18,170 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Comcast by 16.9% in the second quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 64,149 shares of the cable giant's stock worth $1,593,000 after purchasing an additional 9,288 shares during the last quarter. Talon Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Comcast in the second quarter valued at approximately $274,000. Junto Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Comcast in the second quarter valued at approximately $40,972,000. Finally, IPG Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Comcast during the second quarter valued at approximately $729,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.32% of the company's stock.

Comcast Company Profile

Comcast Corporation NASDAQ: CMCSA is a global media and technology company that provides broadband, wireless, video, voice and related services to residential and business customers. Through its connectivity businesses, Comcast offers internet access, mobile service, pay television, telephone service, and home security and automation products, primarily under the Xfinity brand in the United States.

Comcast also operates a broad portfolio of entertainment and media businesses. NBCUniversal includes the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks, cable networks, film and television studios, the Peacock streaming service, and a collection of theme parks.

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