Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) Upgraded by Wolfe Research to Peer Perform

Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) from an underperform rating to a peer perform rating in a report published on Thursday, MarketBeat reports.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on PARA. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Paramount Global from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of Paramount Global from a neutral rating to a sell rating and decreased their target price for the company from $17.00 to $11.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Rosenblatt Securities upgraded Paramount Global from a sell rating to a neutral rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $9.00 to $13.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a buy rating and issued a $15.00 target price on shares of Paramount Global in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Benchmark decreased their price target on Paramount Global from $30.00 to $19.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Paramount Global currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $13.79.

Paramount Global Stock Down 8.5 %

PARA stock opened at $12.37 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $12.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $12.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Paramount Global has a twelve month low of $10.16 and a twelve month high of $24.00.

Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.05) by $0.09. Paramount Global had a positive return on equity of 1.78% and a negative net margin of 2.05%. The business had revenue of $7.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.80 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.08 EPS. Paramount Global’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Paramount Global will post 1.21 EPS for the current year.

Paramount Global Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.62%. Paramount Global’s dividend payout ratio is presently -19.61%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PARA. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Paramount Global by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 58,286,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $862,058,000 after buying an additional 626,256 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Paramount Global by 30.4% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 54,882,034 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,224,418,000 after buying an additional 12,783,448 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Paramount Global by 7.3% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,333,056 shares of the company’s stock valued at $796,459,000 after acquiring an additional 2,402,874 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Paramount Global by 9.4% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 14,832,568 shares of the company’s stock valued at $191,340,000 after acquiring an additional 1,272,851 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Paramount Global by 15.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,299,798 shares of the company’s stock valued at $171,567,000 after acquiring an additional 1,767,173 shares during the period. 73.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paramount Global Company Profile

Paramount Global operates as a media, streaming, and entertainment company worldwide. It operates through TV Media, Direct-to-Consumer, and Filmed Entertainment segments. The TV Media segment operates CBS Television Network, a domestic broadcast television network; CBS Stations, a television station; and international free-to-air networks comprising Network 10, Channel 5, Telefe, and Chilevisión; domestic premium and basic cable networks, such as Paramount+ with Showtime, MTV, Comedy Central, Paramount Network, The Smithsonian Channel, Nickelodeon, BET Media Group, and CBS Sports Network; and international extensions of these brands.