Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA)

Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Friday. Investors acquired 80,915 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 42% compared to the average volume of 57,112 call options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Paramount Global

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Veracity Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paramount Global in the first quarter worth about $167,000. Kovack Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Paramount Global by 21.6% in the first quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 14,118 shares of the company’s stock worth $166,000 after buying an additional 2,508 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Paramount Global by 10.8% in the first quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 32,578 shares of the company’s stock worth $383,000 after buying an additional 3,164 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Paramount Global by 3.9% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 24,682 shares of the company’s stock worth $291,000 after buying an additional 934 shares during the period. Finally, Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Paramount Global by 5.2% in the first quarter. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC now owns 449,044 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,285,000 after buying an additional 22,349 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.00% of the company’s stock.

Paramount Global Trading Up 13.4 %

Shares of PARA stock opened at $12.44 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.32. Paramount Global has a 52-week low of $10.12 and a 52-week high of $24.00. The company has a market capitalization of $8.12 billion, a PE ratio of -12.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 1.77. The business’s fifty day moving average is $11.52 and its 200 day moving average is $12.85.

Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $7.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.80 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.08 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Paramount Global will post 1.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paramount Global Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 17th will be given a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 17th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. Paramount Global’s payout ratio is -19.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on PARA. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $15.00 target price on shares of Paramount Global in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on Paramount Global from $20.00 to $15.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Wolfe Research upgraded Paramount Global from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Paramount Global from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Paramount Global from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.79.

About Paramount Global

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.