Viacom (VIAB) Cut to Market Perform at Barrington Research

Viacom (NASDAQ:VIAB) was downgraded by research analysts at Barrington Research from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday.

VIAB has been the topic of several other research reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Viacom from $42.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 13th. Zacks Investment Research lowered Viacom from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 3rd. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $37.00 price objective (down previously from $40.00) on shares of Viacom in a research report on Friday, October 6th. Credit Suisse Group set a $38.00 price objective on Viacom and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 1st. Finally, Citigroup lowered Viacom from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $33.00 to $24.00 in a research report on Monday, October 9th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. The company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $35.81.

Viacom (NASDAQ VIAB) remained flat at $$30.81 during trading on Tuesday. The company had a trading volume of 2,299,600 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,108,689. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. Viacom has a one year low of $22.13 and a one year high of $46.72. The firm has a market cap of $12,393.54, a PE ratio of 6.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.60.

Viacom (NASDAQ:VIAB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 16th. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, missing the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.86 by ($0.09). Viacom had a return on equity of 47.25% and a net margin of 20.94%. The company had revenue of $3.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.54 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. equities analysts expect that Viacom will post 3.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Viacom in the 2nd quarter valued at $108,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in Viacom by 13.0% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,000 after purchasing an additional 423 shares during the last quarter. Wall Street Access Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Viacom by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Wall Street Access Asset Management LLC now owns 6,315 shares of the company’s stock valued at $212,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Capital Guardian Trust Co. raised its stake in Viacom by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Capital Guardian Trust Co. now owns 6,460 shares of the company’s stock valued at $217,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Beach Investment Management LLC. acquired a new position in Viacom in the 2nd quarter valued at $272,000. 79.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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About Viacom

Viacom Inc offers global media brands that create television programs, motion pictures, short-form content, applications, games, consumer products, social media experiences and other entertainment content. As of September 30, 2016, the Company offered its services for audiences in more than 180 countries.

Analyst Recommendations for Viacom (NASDAQ:VIAB)