Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report released on Friday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Comcast in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Comcast from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Comcast from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Comcast in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Comcast from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Comcast presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.33.

Comcast Price Performance

CMCSA traded up $0.27 during trading on Friday, reaching $36.58. 21,859,674 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 23,851,168. The company has a market cap of $139.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.83, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.01. 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 12-month low of $36.15 and a 12-month high of $47.11. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $40.18.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 net margin of 11.92% and a return on equity of 19.81%. 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 company posted $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 4.25 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Comcast

In other Comcast news, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 25,537 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $22,779,218.91. This represents a 4.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian L. Roberts sold 234,464 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.66, for a total transaction 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 approximately $284,539,128.48. This represents a 3.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Comcast

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new position in Comcast in the second quarter worth $26,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC grew 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 last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in Comcast by 365.4% during the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 726 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in Comcast in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Comcast by 220.3% in the third quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 759 shares of the cable giant's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.32% of the company's stock.

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.

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