Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Friday.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on CMCSA. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Comcast from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $48.00 to $45.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Scotiabank upgraded Comcast from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $47.75 to $48.00 in a report on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Comcast from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Comcast to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Comcast in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.06.

Comcast Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of CMCSA stock opened at $38.25 on Friday. Comcast has a 1 year low of $36.43 and a 1 year high of $47.11. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $41.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $40.27. The company has a market cap of $146.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.28, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The cable giant reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.06. Comcast had a net margin of 11.92% and a return on equity of 19.81%. The firm had revenue of $32.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.78 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Comcast will post 4.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Brian L. Roberts sold 234,464 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.66, for a total transaction of $10,002,234.24. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,669,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $284,539,128.48. This represents a 3.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 25,537 shares of Comcast stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.59, for a total transaction of $1,087,620.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 534,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,779,218.91. The trade was a 4.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Comcast

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CMCSA. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Comcast during the second quarter valued at approximately $244,000. Intact Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Comcast by 25.4% in the 2nd quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 335,650 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $13,144,000 after purchasing an additional 68,050 shares during the last quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Comcast by 47.3% in the 2nd quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 14,879 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $583,000 after purchasing an additional 4,779 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in Comcast during the 2nd quarter worth $1,766,000. Finally, Klingman & Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of Comcast by 16.7% during the second quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC now owns 7,298 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $286,000 after buying an additional 1,046 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

About Comcast

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.