Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Rating Lowered to Buy at StockNews.com

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other analysts have also commented on CMCSA. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Comcast in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays lifted their price target on Comcast from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Evercore ISI upgraded Comcast to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. KeyCorp upped their target price on Comcast from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Macquarie lifted their price target on shares of Comcast from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.39.

Comcast Stock Performance

NASDAQ CMCSA opened at $37.67 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $144.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.13, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.99. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72. Comcast has a fifty-two week low of $36.43 and a fifty-two week high of $47.11.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The cable giant reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.06. Comcast had a return on equity of 19.81% and a net margin of 11.92%. The company had revenue of $32.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.78 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. Comcast’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Comcast will post 4.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 25,537 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.59, for a total value of $1,087,620.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 534,849 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,779,218.91. This represents a 4.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Brian L. Roberts sold 234,464 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.66, for a total value 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 $284,539,128.48. The trade was a 3.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Comcast

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Comcast by 26.5% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 5,396 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $203,000 after purchasing an additional 1,132 shares during the period. Old Port Advisors grew its position in shares of Comcast by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 6,910 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $259,000 after buying an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Comcast by 4.5% during the third quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 28,498 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $1,190,000 after buying an additional 1,221 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its stake in Comcast by 2.2% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 154,036 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $6,434,000 after acquiring an additional 3,323 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in Comcast by 15.2% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 171,440 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $7,161,000 after acquiring an additional 22,684 shares in the last quarter. 84.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.