Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Given Buy Rating at Benchmark

Benchmark restated their buy rating on shares of Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $55.00 price objective on the cable giant’s stock.

CMCSA has been the subject of a number of other reports. Pivotal Research reduced their target price on shares of Comcast from $48.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. StockNews.com cut Comcast from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Comcast from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Barclays decreased their price target on Comcast from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Comcast from $47.25 to $47.75 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.63.

Comcast Trading Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ:CMCSA opened at $43.56 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $168.69 billion, a PE ratio of 11.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.01. Comcast has a 52-week low of $36.43 and a 52-week high of $47.11. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $40.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The cable giant reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.06. Comcast had a net margin of 12.46% and a return on equity of 20.17%. The business had revenue of $32.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.78 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Comcast will post 4.24 EPS for the current year.

Comcast Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 8th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.85%. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.98%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Comcast

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Comcast by 0.8% in the third quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 30,584 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $1,277,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Comcast by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,445 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $353,000 after buying an additional 257 shares during the period. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Comcast by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,829 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $243,000 after buying an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Comcast by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,754 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $382,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Saxon Interests Inc. increased its stake in shares of Comcast by 2.0% in the third quarter. Saxon Interests Inc. now owns 13,554 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $566,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. 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.