Brokerages Set Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Price Target at $42.50

Shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $42.50.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on CMCSA shares. Bank of America cut Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $50.00 to $38.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Benchmark lowered their target price on shares of Comcast from $57.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. BNP Paribas lowered Comcast from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $31.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Macquarie decreased their price objective on shares of Comcast from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $38.00 target price on shares of Comcast in a report on Friday, January 31st.

Institutional Trading of Comcast

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Comcast during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Comcast by 269.9% during the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 688 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 502 shares during the last quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Comcast during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Comcast in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Comcast Price Performance

Shares of CMCSA opened at $33.96 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $128.40 billion, a PE ratio of 8.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.94. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $35.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.37. Comcast has a twelve month low of $32.20 and a twelve month high of $45.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.08. Comcast had a net margin of 13.09% and a return on equity of 19.98%. Research analysts anticipate that Comcast will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be paid a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. This is a positive change from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio is 31.81%.

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.