Comcast (CMCSA) and The Competition Financial Contrast

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) is one of 257 publicly-traded companies in the “Media” industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its rivals? We will compare Comcast to related companies based on the strength of its risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, valuation, earnings and profitability.

Dividends

Comcast pays an annual dividend of $1.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.4%. Comcast pays out 41.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Media” companies pay a dividend yield of 5.2% and pay out 139.5% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Comcast has raised its dividend for 18 consecutive years. Comcast is clearly a better dividend stock than its rivals, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

84.3% of Comcast shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 38.1% of shares of all “Media” companies are owned by institutional investors. 1.4% of Comcast shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 17.5% of shares of all “Media” companies are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Comcast and its rivals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Comcast	9.20%	14.64%	5.14%
Comcast Competitors	-18.35%	-47.68%	-4.81%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Comcast and its rivals top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Comcast	$123.71 billion	$20.00 billion	7.72
Comcast Competitors	$3.27 billion	$35.12 million	7.30

Comcast has higher revenue and earnings than its rivals. Comcast is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its rivals, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Comcast and its rivals, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Comcast	6	11	10	0	2.15
Comcast Competitors	2319	6907	10757	488	2.46

Comcast presently has a consensus price target of $28.77, indicating a potential upside of 17.97%. As a group, “Media” companies have a potential upside of 25.48%. Given Comcast’s rivals stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Comcast has less favorable growth aspects than its rivals.

Volatility and Risk

Comcast has a beta of 0.72, meaning that its share price is 28% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Comcast’s rivals have a beta of 0.97, meaning that their average share price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Comcast beats its rivals on 9 of the 15 factors compared.

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. The Business Services Connectivity segment offers connectivity services for small business locations, which include broadband, wireline voice, and wireless services, as well as solutions for medium-sized customers and larger enterprises; and small business connectivity services in the United Kingdom. The Media segment operates NBCUniversal's television and streaming business, including national and regional cable networks; the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks and owned local broadcast television stations; and Peacock, a direct-to-consumer streaming services. It also operates international television networks comprising the Sky Sports networks, as well as other digital properties. The Studios segment operates NBCUniversal and Sky film and television studio production and distribution operations. The Theme Parks segment operates Universal theme parks in Orlando, Florida; Hollywood, California; Osaka, Japan; and Beijing, China. The company also offers a consolidated streaming platforms under the Philadelphia Flyers and the Wells Fargo Center arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Xumo. Comcast Corporation was founded in 1963 and is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.