Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $42.50.

CMCSA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on Comcast from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Rosenblatt Securities dropped their price target on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $36.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Comcast from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Comcast from $47.00 to $40.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st.

Comcast Stock Performance

Shares of CMCSA traded up $0.41 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $33.96. The company had a trading volume of 21,444,902 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,736,500. Comcast has a 52-week low of $32.20 and a 52-week high of $45.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $128.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.18, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $35.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.08. Comcast had a net margin of 13.09% and a return on equity of 19.98%. On average, analysts expect that Comcast will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be given a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.89%. This is a positive change from Comcast's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. Comcast's dividend payout ratio is presently 31.81%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in Comcast in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Comcast by 269.9% during the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 688 shares of the cable giant's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 502 shares during the period. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Comcast during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Comcast during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC boosted its position in Comcast by 126.9% in the 1st quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 801 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 448 shares during the period. 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.