Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Given “Buy” Rating at Rosenblatt Securities

Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $31.00 price objective on the cable giant’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on CMCSA. Scotiabank reduced their target price on Comcast from $29.00 to $27.50 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $23.00 price target on shares of Comcast and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $23.00 price target on shares of Comcast in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $35.00 price target (down from $37.00) on shares of Comcast in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Finally, New Street Research reduced their price objective on shares of Comcast from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.81.

Comcast Price Performance

Shares of Comcast stock opened at $21.90 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. Comcast has a twelve month low of $20.48 and a twelve month high of $32.85. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $24.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.76. The firm has a market cap of $77.72 billion, a PE ratio of 5.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.68.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The cable giant reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $29.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $29.24 billion. Comcast had a return on equity of 14.77% and a net margin of 8.97%. Comcast’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.25 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Comcast will post 3.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 7th. Comcast’s payout ratio is 42.72%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Comcast

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its position in Comcast by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 13,189 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $287,000 after acquiring an additional 1,099 shares during the period. Columbia Asset Management raised its stake in Comcast by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Columbia Asset Management now owns 32,620 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $710,000 after acquiring an additional 1,570 shares during the last quarter. Foundation Resource Management Inc. raised its stake in Comcast by 57.0% during the 3rd quarter. Foundation Resource Management Inc. now owns 1,071,254 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $23,310,000 after acquiring an additional 388,834 shares during the last quarter. Herold Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Comcast by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Herold Advisors Inc. now owns 16,414 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $357,000 after acquiring an additional 793 shares during the period. Finally, Sculati Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Comcast by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC now owns 42,516 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $879,000 after acquiring an additional 1,876 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Comcast Company Profile

Comcast Corporation is a global media and communications company headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1963 as American Cable Systems, the company grew through the expansion of cable television and broadband services and adopted the Comcast name in 1969.

Through its Connectivity & Platforms businesses, Comcast provides residential and business customers with broadband internet, video, voice, mobile and related services. Its Xfinity brand offers internet, television, streaming and wireless products in the United States, while Comcast Business serves commercial and enterprise customers with connectivity, communications and technology solutions.