Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Shares Cross Above Fifty Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA)’s share price passed above its 50-day moving average during trading on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $23.34 and traded as high as $23.88. Comcast shares last traded at $23.87, with a volume of 35,891,940 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $26.00 target price on shares of Comcast and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 price target (down from $37.00) on shares of Comcast in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Comcast from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $31.00 price objective on shares of Comcast in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Finally, KeyCorp downgraded Comcast from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $18.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $29.17.

Comcast Price Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $23.34 and a 200 day moving average of $26.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The company has a market capitalization of $84.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.68.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The cable giant reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $29.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $29.22 billion. Comcast had a net margin of 9.20% and a return on equity of 14.64%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.12 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Comcast Corporation will post 3.54 EPS for the current year.

Comcast Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 6th. Comcast’s payout ratio is presently 41.77%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Comcast

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Heritage Family Offices LLP purchased a new position in shares of Comcast in the 3rd quarter worth $129,000. Calamos Advisors LLC increased its position in Comcast by 2.1% during the third quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 795,820 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $17,317,000 after acquiring an additional 16,076 shares during the last quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd lifted its holdings in Comcast by 89.8% in the third quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd now owns 25,926 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $564,000 after acquiring an additional 12,269 shares during the period. Platform Technology Partners bought a new position in Comcast in the third quarter valued at about $337,000. Finally, Costello Asset Management INC lifted its holdings in Comcast by 32.8% in the third quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 4,973 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $108,000 after acquiring an additional 1,228 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.