Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Short Interest Update

Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 53,500,000 shares, an increase of 7.0% from the December 15th total of 49,990,000 shares. Approximately 1.4% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 19,710,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.7 days.

Comcast Stock Performance

NASDAQ CMCSA opened at $36.58 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. Comcast has a twelve month low of $36.15 and a twelve month high of $47.11. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $39.97 and a 200 day moving average of $40.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $139.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.83, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.01.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The cable giant reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $32.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.78 billion. Comcast had a return on equity of 19.81% and a net margin of 11.92%. The business’s revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Comcast will post 4.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 8th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.39%. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Macquarie reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $42.00 price objective on shares of Comcast in a report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Comcast from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $48.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Comcast to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Pivotal Research raised their price target on Comcast from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.33.

Insider Transactions at Comcast

In other news, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 25,537 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the president now directly owns 534,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,779,218.91. This trade represents a 4.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Brian L. Roberts sold 234,464 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.66, for a total value of $10,002,234.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new position in Comcast in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Comcast by 269.9% in the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 688 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 502 shares in the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Comcast by 365.4% during the third quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 726 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in Comcast during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Comcast by 220.3% in the 3rd quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 759 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 522 shares during 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.