Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Receives $43.83 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have assigned a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $43.83.

Several brokerages have commented on CMCSA. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Comcast from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Pivotal Research increased their price target on shares of Comcast from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Comcast from $42.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd.

Comcast Stock Up 1.4 %

CMCSA stock opened at $35.90 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $36.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.68. Comcast has a fifty-two week low of $32.50 and a fifty-two week high of $45.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $135.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.65, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.00.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.08. Comcast had a net margin of 13.09% and a return on equity of 19.98%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Comcast will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. This is an increase from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.68%. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.81%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Comcast

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Comcast in the fourth quarter worth $104,000. Total Wealth Planning & Management Inc. purchased a new position in Comcast in the fourth quarter worth $803,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in Comcast in the fourth quarter worth $139,227,000. Brucke Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Comcast in the fourth quarter worth $325,000. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Comcast by 427.8% in the fourth quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 245,568 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $9,216,000 after acquiring an additional 199,038 shares in the last quarter. 84.32% of the stock is 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.