Comcast Corporation (CMCSA) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.33 on January 27th

Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, October 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 6th will be given a dividend of $0.33 per share by the cable giant on Wednesday, January 27th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.8%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 6th.

Comcast has raised its dividend by an average of 0.1% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 18 consecutive years. Comcast has a dividend payout ratio of 28.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Comcast to earn $3.61 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.32 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 36.6%.

Comcast Trading Down 0.7%

NASDAQ:CMCSA opened at $22.69 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $23.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.11, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.82. Comcast has a 1 year low of $20.48 and a 1 year high of $32.85.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The cable giant reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.08. Comcast had a return on equity of 14.64% and a net margin of 9.20%. The firm had revenue of $29.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $29.22 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.12 EPS. Comcast’s quarterly revenue was down 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Comcast will post 3.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on CMCSA. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $23.00 price objective on shares of Comcast in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America reaffirmed 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. Barclays set a $24.00 price target on shares of Comcast and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $31.00 price target on shares of Comcast in a report on Monday, October 19th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $27.00 price objective (down from $32.00) on shares of Comcast in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.58.

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.