Short Interest in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Grows By 7.0%

Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 53,500,000 shares, an increase of 7.0% from the December 31st total of 49,990,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 19,710,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.7 days. Currently, 1.4% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CMCSA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays lowered their price target on Comcast from $42.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Comcast from $45.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Macquarie dropped their target price on Comcast from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, Loop Capital cut their price objective on Comcast from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.13.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Brian L. Roberts sold 234,464 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.66, for a total value of $10,002,234.24. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 6,669,928 shares in the company, valued at $284,539,128.48. The trade was a 3.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 25,537 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.59, for a total value of $1,087,620.83. Following the sale, the president now owns 534,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,779,218.91. This trade represents a 4.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Comcast

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CMCSA. Winch Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Comcast by 269.9% during the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 688 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 502 shares during the period. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in Comcast in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Comcast during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Comcast by 365.4% in the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 726 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in shares of Comcast in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 84.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Comcast Stock Performance

Shares of CMCSA traded down $0.13 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $33.07. 12,915,338 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 26,303,156. Comcast has a 52-week low of $32.50 and a 52-week high of $45.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $126.52 billion, a PE ratio of 7.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.00. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $38.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.02.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.08. Comcast had a net margin of 13.09% and a return on equity of 19.98%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Comcast will post 4.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be given a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.99%. This is an increase from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Comcast’s payout ratio is currently 29.88%.

Comcast Company Profile

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.