Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Stock Rated "Hold" by Wall Street Brokerages

Key Points

• Analyst consensus is “Hold”: Among 29 covering firms, 13 recommend holding, 11 recommend buying and 5 recommend selling. The average 12-month price target is $30.81, above Comcast’s reported opening price of $21.90.
• Comcast exceeded quarterly expectations: The company reported adjusted earnings of $1.04 per share versus a $0.97 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $29.94 billion. However, revenue declined 1.2% year over year and earnings fell from $1.25 per share in the prior-year quarter.
• The company offers a sizable dividend: Comcast declared a quarterly dividend of $0.33 per share, equivalent to $1.32 annually and a 6.0% yield, with a 42.72% payout ratio.

Shares of Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Hold" by the twenty-nine research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, thirteen have given a hold recommendation and eleven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $30.81.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Comcast from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $18.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Moffett Nathanson dropped their target price on shares of Comcast from $52.00 to $43.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Comcast from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their price target for the company from $34.00 to $32.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $23.00 price target on shares of Comcast and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price objective on shares of Comcast from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th.

Comcast Price Performance

Shares of CMCSA stock opened at $21.90 on Friday. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $24.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market cap of $77.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.68. Comcast has a one year low of $20.48 and a one year high of $32.85.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The cable giant reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $29.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $29.24 billion. Comcast had a return on equity of 14.77% and a net margin of 8.97%. The business's revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.25 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Comcast will post 3.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 7th will be paid a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 7th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.0%. Comcast's payout ratio is 42.72%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC raised its position in Comcast by 16.6% in the 3rd quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 2,549,714 shares of the cable giant's stock worth $55,482,000 after purchasing an additional 363,552 shares during the last quarter. Saudi Central Bank boosted its position in Comcast by 87.2% in the 2nd quarter. Saudi Central Bank now owns 251,190 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $6,167,000 after buying an additional 117,038 shares during the last quarter. Nykredit A S bought a new position in Comcast in the 2nd quarter valued at $137,515,000. Inceptionr LLC bought a new position in Comcast in the 1st quarter valued at $660,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of Comcast by 10.2% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 40,864,921 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $1,173,232,000 after buying an additional 3,783,234 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 global media and communications company headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its businesses include broadband internet, wireless services, video, voice, and business connectivity services, primarily marketed under the Xfinity brand in the United States. Comcast also provides advertising and related technology services to businesses and media organizations.

Through NBCUniversal, Comcast operates national and local television networks, broadcast network NBC, Spanish-language network Telemundo, the Peacock streaming service, and a portfolio of film and television production businesses.

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