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

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Thursday.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Comcast from $42.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America lowered shares of Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $50.00 to $38.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Comcast from $45.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Comcast from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reduced their price objective on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.83.

Comcast Trading Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ:CMCSA opened at $35.39 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company’s 50 day moving average is $36.37 and its 200-day moving average is $39.49. The firm has a market cap of $133.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.00. Comcast has a 12 month low of $32.50 and a 12 month high of $45.31.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 19.98% and a net margin of 13.09%. Equities analysts anticipate that Comcast will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. This is a boost from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.81%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Comcast

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Comcast during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Comcast by 269.9% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in shares of Comcast during the third quarter worth $30,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in Comcast during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Comcast during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. 84.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.