Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Cut to “Sell” at Arete

Arete downgraded shares of Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) from a neutral rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat reports. Arete currently has $23.00 price objective on the cable giant’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on CMCSA. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Comcast from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Comcast in a research report on Friday, October 31st. BNP Paribas upgraded Comcast from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $28.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Zacks Research raised Comcast from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $36.00 price target on shares of Comcast in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.24.

Comcast Price Performance

Shares of Comcast stock opened at $28.21 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The company has a market cap of $102.79 billion, a PE ratio of 4.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.81. The business has a 50 day moving average of $27.99 and a 200 day moving average of $31.11. Comcast has a 52 week low of $25.75 and a 52 week high of $38.40.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 13th. The cable giant reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $30.34 billion for the quarter. Comcast had a net margin of 18.33% and a return on equity of 18.06%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Comcast will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Comcast Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 14th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. Comcast’s payout ratio is presently 21.96%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Comcast

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital A Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Comcast by 173.7% during the 2nd quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 687 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 436 shares during the last quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Comcast by 906.8% in the second quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC now owns 745 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 671 shares in the last quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Comcast by 86.0% during the second quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 757 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. Avalon Trust Co increased its position in shares of Comcast by 433.3% during the second quarter. Avalon Trust Co now owns 768 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 624 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ransom Advisory Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Comcast during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 84.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Comcast News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Comcast this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Forbes lays out a buy-side case for Comcast, pointing to its attractive valuation and durable cash flows as reasons long-term investors should consider CMCSA. Why You Should Consider Comcast Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Seeking Alpha highlights Comcast’s 4%+ dividend yield and frames the shares as an income play, a narrative that can attract yield-focused investors and provide downside support. Comcast’s 4%+ Dividend Yield: How It Became An Income Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Yahoo Finance runs a valuation check after recent share weakness, suggesting CMCSA looks cheaper on several metrics — useful context for value investors but not an immediate catalyst. Comcast (CMCSA) Valuation Check After Recent Share Price Weakness
• Negative Sentiment: KeyBanc downgraded Comcast to a Sell, a direct hit to investor sentiment that can increase selling pressure from funds tracking analyst sentiment. KeyBanc downgrades Comcast (CMCSA) to a Sell
• Negative Sentiment: Benchmark lowered its price target for Comcast to $44 from $46, trimming upside expectations and signaling more conservative near-term forecasts. Benchmark Cuts Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Price Target to $44.00
• Negative Sentiment: Another report reiterates Benchmark’s cut to $44 (same analyst action noted by The Globe and Mail), reinforcing downward revisions as a headwind. Comcast price target lowered to 44 from 46 at Benchmark
• Negative Sentiment: Arete Research downgraded Comcast from Hold to Strong Sell, adding to the cluster of negative analyst ratings and pressuring sentiment. Arete Downgrades Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) to Sell
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks also flagged the Arete downgrade in its coverage, amplifying the downgrade news across investor channels. Zacks coverage of downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters reports the market reaction to Comcast’s TV spin has given Paramount more ammunition against Comcast in the Warner Bros. campaign — a strategic/competitive development that could complicate Comcast’s M&A posture and investor confidence. Comcast’s TV spin hands Paramount more ammunition in its Warner Bros campaign

About Comcast

Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA) is a diversified global media and technology company headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its principal operations are organized around Comcast Cable, which provides broadband internet, video, voice and wireless services to residential and business customers in the United States under the Xfinity and Comcast Business brands, and NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment group that develops, produces and distributes content across broadcast and cable networks, film, and streaming platforms.

NBCUniversal’s assets include the NBC broadcast network, a portfolio of cable channels, Universal Pictures and other film and television production businesses, and the Peacock streaming service.