Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Wednesday.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on CMCSA. Pivotal Research lowered their price target on Comcast from $48.00 to $47.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a neutral rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Comcast in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Comcast from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Benchmark reiterated a buy rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Comcast in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Finally, KeyCorp cut their price objective on Comcast from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $45.78.

Comcast Stock Down 2.1 %

Comcast stock opened at $38.67 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $39.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $39.86. The firm has a market cap of $151.73 billion, a PE ratio of 10.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.00. Comcast has a twelve month low of $36.43 and a twelve month high of $47.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.66.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The cable giant reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $29.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.02 billion. Comcast had a return on equity of 20.17% and a net margin of 12.46%. Comcast’s quarterly revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.13 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Comcast will post 4.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 2nd. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.21%. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio is 32.80%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Luken Investment Analytics LLC lifted its stake in Comcast by 258.0% during the first quarter. Luken Investment Analytics LLC now owns 580 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares during the period. Steph & Co. boosted its stake in Comcast by 154.6% in the 1st quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 611 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new stake in Comcast in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Comcast during the second quarter worth $27,000. Finally, OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A bought a new position in shares of Comcast during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. 84.32% of the stock is currently 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.