Needham & Company LLC Downgrades Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) to Hold

Needham & Company LLC cut shares of Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on PARA. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a neutral rating and set a $13.00 price target on shares of Paramount Global in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Benchmark dropped their price target on shares of Paramount Global from $30.00 to $19.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Paramount Global from $20.00 to $15.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of Paramount Global from a neutral rating to a sell rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $17.00 to $11.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Paramount Global from an underperform rating to a peer perform rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $13.58.

Paramount Global Trading Down 7.0 %

Shares of PARA stock opened at $12.89 on Tuesday. Paramount Global has a 12-month low of $10.12 and a 12-month high of $19.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.29. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $11.52 and its 200 day moving average is $12.88.

Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.28. Paramount Global had a negative net margin of 0.15% and a positive return on equity of 3.35%. The company had revenue of $7.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.09 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Paramount Global will post 1.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paramount Global Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 17th will be paid a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 17th. Paramount Global’s payout ratio is currently -133.32%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paramount Global in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Paramount Global during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Archer Investment Corp purchased a new position in Paramount Global during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. WFA of San Diego LLC raised its stake in shares of Paramount Global by 635.0% in the third quarter. WFA of San Diego LLC now owns 2,646 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 2,286 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Paramount Global by 55.1% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 2,972 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,056 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 73.00% of the company’s stock.

About Paramount Global

Paramount Global operates as a media, streaming, and entertainment company worldwide. It operates through TV Media, Direct-to-Consumer, and Filmed Entertainment segments. The TV Media segment operates CBS Television Network, a domestic broadcast television network; CBS Stations, a television station; and international free-to-air networks comprising Network 10, Channel 5, Telefe, and Chilevisión; domestic premium and basic cable networks, such as Paramount+ with Showtime, MTV, Comedy Central, Paramount Network, The Smithsonian Channel, Nickelodeon, BET Media Group, and CBS Sports Network; and international extensions of these brands.