Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Given Neutral Rating at Macquarie

Macquarie reaffirmed their neutral rating on shares of Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) in a report published on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $40.00 target price on the cable giant’s stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Pivotal Research lowered their price objective on Comcast from $48.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on Comcast from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Comcast in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Comcast from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Comcast from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Comcast has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.75.

Comcast Price Performance

Comcast stock opened at $42.53 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $164.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.43, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.00. Comcast has a 12-month low of $36.43 and a 12-month high of $47.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $40.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.60.

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 company 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Comcast will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Comcast Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 8th. Comcast’s payout ratio is currently 33.33%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Comcast

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. WCM Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Comcast by 343.9% in the third quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 45,440 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $1,892,000 after purchasing an additional 35,204 shares in the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV grew its position in shares of Comcast by 9.4% in the third quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 53,689 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $2,243,000 after purchasing an additional 4,617 shares during the last quarter. Loudon Investment Management LLC increased its position in Comcast by 4.0% during the third quarter. Loudon Investment Management LLC now owns 104,440 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $4,362,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares during the period. Access Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Comcast in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,830,000. Finally, Buckingham Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Comcast by 2.7% in the third quarter. Buckingham Capital Management Inc. now owns 37,662 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $1,573,000 after acquiring an additional 989 shares during the period. 84.32% of the stock is currently 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.