Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Given New $25.00 Price Target at BNP Paribas Exane

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) had its price objective cut by investment analysts at BNP Paribas Exane from $26.00 to $25.00 in a report released on Wednesday,MarketScreener reports. The firm presently has an “underperform” rating on the cable giant’s stock. BNP Paribas Exane’s target price indicates a potential downside of 10.27% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Comcast to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 14th. Arete Research set a $23.00 price objective on shares of Comcast in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Comcast from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Bank of America upgraded Comcast from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $31.00 to $37.00 in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on Comcast from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 30th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $34.68.

Comcast Price Performance

Comcast stock opened at $27.86 on Wednesday. Comcast has a 52 week low of $25.75 and a 52 week high of $36.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $30.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $100.24 billion, a PE ratio of 5.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.80.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The cable giant reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $32.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.35 billion. Comcast had a net margin of 16.17% and a return on equity of 16.86%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.96 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Comcast will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Michael J. Cavanagh sold 57,947 shares of Comcast stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.66, for a total transaction of $1,892,549.02. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 622,336 shares in the company, valued at $20,325,493.76. This trade represents a 8.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Comcast

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its position in shares of Comcast by 39.9% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,055,192 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $37,954,000 after buying an additional 300,898 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Comcast by 9.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,536,937 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $236,810,000 after purchasing an additional 665,635 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Comcast by 75.3% in the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 340,764 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $10,707,000 after purchasing an additional 146,339 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A. boosted its holdings in Comcast by 3.5% in the third quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 952,154 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $29,917,000 after purchasing an additional 32,262 shares during the period. Finally, Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK Ltd boosted its holdings in Comcast by 1.0% in the third quarter. Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK Ltd now owns 11,327,445 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $355,908,000 after purchasing an additional 113,461 shares during the period. 84.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Comcast

Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA) is a diversified global media and technology company headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its principal operations are organized around Comcast Cable, which provides broadband internet, video, voice and wireless services to residential and business customers in the United States under the Xfinity and Comcast Business brands, and NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment group that develops, produces and distributes content across broadcast and cable networks, film, and streaming platforms.

NBCUniversal’s assets include the NBC broadcast network, a portfolio of cable channels, Universal Pictures and other film and television production businesses, and the Peacock streaming service.