Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Receives “Buy” Rating from Benchmark

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

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on CMCSA. BNP Paribas reaffirmed a neutral rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Comcast in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Comcast from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of Comcast from $55.00 to $53.00 in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Comcast from $50.00 to $47.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic cut shares of Comcast from a buy rating to a neutral rating and decreased their target price for the company from $50.00 to $44.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $49.50.

Comcast Price Performance

Shares of CMCSA stock opened at $39.72 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The company has a market capitalization of $157.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.68, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.98. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $42.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.94. Comcast has a one year low of $36.38 and a one year high of $47.46.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The cable giant reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.04. Comcast had a net margin of 12.66% and a return on equity of 19.75%. The firm had revenue of $31.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.41 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Comcast will post 4.23 EPS for the current year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 3rd will be paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.12%. This is a positive change from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.33%.

Insider Transactions at Comcast

In other news, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 114,749 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.10, for a total value of $5,289,928.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Comcast

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its position in Comcast by 94.1% during the third quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 623 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 302 shares during the period. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A acquired a new stake in Comcast during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Quilter Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Comcast in the first quarter valued at about $695,100,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Comcast in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Comcast in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

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.