Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) Lowered to Sell at Argus

Argus lowered shares of Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on PARA. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a neutral rating and set a $13.00 target price on shares of Paramount Global in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Raymond James reissued a market perform rating on shares of Paramount Global in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Needham & Company LLC downgraded shares of Paramount Global from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of Paramount Global from $20.00 to $15.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Paramount Global from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an underweight rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $13.58.

Paramount Global Trading Down 7.0 %

PARA stock traded down $0.97 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $12.89. 67,049,331 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 24,884,946. Paramount Global has a fifty-two week low of $10.12 and a fifty-two week high of $19.04. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $11.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $12.89. The company has a market capitalization of $8.41 billion, a P/E ratio of -85.93, a PEG ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 1.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.17.

Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.28. Paramount Global had a negative net margin of 0.15% and a positive return on equity of 3.35%. The firm had revenue of $7.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.09 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Paramount Global will post 1.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paramount Global Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 17th will be issued a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 17th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.55%. Paramount Global’s dividend payout ratio is currently -133.32%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Paramount Global

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Paramount Global by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 58,286,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $862,058,000 after purchasing an additional 626,256 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Paramount Global by 9.4% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 14,832,568 shares of the company’s stock valued at $191,340,000 after acquiring an additional 1,272,851 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Paramount Global by 15.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,299,798 shares of the company’s stock worth $171,567,000 after acquiring an additional 1,767,173 shares during the last quarter. Ariel Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Paramount Global by 18.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 11,330,850 shares of the company’s stock worth $146,168,000 after acquiring an additional 1,731,714 shares during the period. Finally, Kodai Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Paramount Global in the 4th quarter valued at about $84,842,000. 73.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paramount Global Company Profile

Paramount Global operates as a media, streaming, and entertainment company worldwide. It operates through TV Media, Direct-to-Consumer, and Filmed Entertainment segments. The TV Media segment operates CBS Television Network, a domestic broadcast television network; CBS Stations, a television station; and international free-to-air networks comprising Network 10, Channel 5, Telefe, and Chilevisión; domestic premium and basic cable networks, such as Paramount+ with Showtime, MTV, Comedy Central, Paramount Network, The Smithsonian Channel, Nickelodeon, BET Media Group, and CBS Sports Network; and international extensions of these brands.