Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $30.81 According to Brokerages

Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the twenty-nine ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, thirteen have assigned a hold recommendation and eleven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $30.81.

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Comcast in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Barclays set a $24.00 target price on shares of Comcast and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $35.00 target price (down from $37.00) on shares of Comcast in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Comcast from $30.00 to $27.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $31.00 price target on shares of Comcast in a report on Monday.

Comcast Stock Performance

Shares of CMCSA stock opened at $21.90 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization 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 has a 1-year low of $20.48 and a 1-year high of $32.85. The business has a 50-day moving average of $24.07 and a 200 day moving average of $24.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

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

Comcast Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 7th will be paid a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 7th. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.72%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Comcast

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CMCSA. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC raised its position in Comcast by 16.6% during the third quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 2,549,714 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $55,482,000 after acquiring an additional 363,552 shares in the last quarter. Saudi Central Bank lifted its stake in Comcast by 87.2% in the second quarter. Saudi Central Bank now owns 251,190 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $6,167,000 after acquiring an additional 117,038 shares during the last quarter. Nykredit A S bought a new stake in Comcast in the second quarter worth approximately $137,515,000. Inceptionr LLC bought a new stake in Comcast in the first quarter worth approximately $660,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of Comcast by 10.2% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 40,864,921 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $1,173,232,000 after purchasing an additional 3,783,234 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

About Comcast

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.