Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Stock Has Average Target Price of $32.69 According to Brokerages

Shares of Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-eight ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, twelve have given a hold recommendation and eleven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $31.13.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Scotiabank set a $29.00 price target on Comcast in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $26.00 price objective on Comcast and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Moffett Nathanson lowered their target price on Comcast from $52.00 to $43.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Seaport Research Partners upgraded Comcast from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, KeyCorp lowered shares of Comcast from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $18.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday.

Comcast Trading Down 1.0%

Comcast stock opened at $21.91 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $24.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.70. Comcast has a 52 week low of $21.28 and a 52 week high of $32.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.68.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The cable giant reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $29.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $29.24 billion. Comcast had a return on equity of 14.77% and a net margin of 8.97%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.25 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Comcast will post 3.48 EPS for the current year.

Comcast Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 7th will be paid a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 7th. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.72%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Comcast

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CMCSA. Saudi Central Bank lifted its stake in shares of Comcast by 87.2% in the 2nd quarter. Saudi Central Bank now owns 251,190 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $6,167,000 after purchasing an additional 117,038 shares during the last quarter. Nykredit A S acquired a new position in Comcast during the second quarter worth $137,515,000. Inceptionr LLC bought a new position in Comcast during the first quarter valued at about $660,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Comcast by 10.2% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 40,864,921 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $1,173,232,000 after buying an additional 3,783,234 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab lifted its position in shares of Comcast by 7.7% in the second quarter. PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab now owns 875,247 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $21,487,000 after buying an additional 62,671 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Comcast

Here are the key news stories impacting Comcast this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Comcast’s depressed valuation and cash flow remain potential supports for the stock. The company generated nearly $18 billion in free cash flow over the past year, while its low earnings multiple has prompted some investors to argue that the shares may be undervalued. Comcast stock could be undervalued article
• Positive Sentiment: Comcast’s FreeWheel advertising technology is developing tools to help connected-TV advertisers measure viewer attention and ad quality, which could support the company’s longer-term advertising prospects. Moffett Nathanson and Citi still maintain Buy ratings, despite reducing their price targets. Comcast advertising technology article
• Neutral Sentiment: Moffett Nathanson cut its price target from $52 to $43, and Citi reduced its target from $30 to $27.50, but both firms retained Buy ratings. The target reductions signal lower near-term expectations while indicating that analysts still see substantial recovery potential. Comcast price target changes
• Negative Sentiment: KeyBanc downgraded Comcast to Underweight and established an $18 price target, citing intensifying broadband competition from fiber providers such as AT&T and Verizon. The firm expects Comcast’s third-quarter broadband subscriber trends unlikely to improve year over year. KeyBanc Comcast downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts warn that Comcast may need to keep lowering broadband prices to defend its customer base, potentially pressuring revenue, margins and other key performance metrics. The concern has pushed the stock toward its lowest level in roughly 13 years. Comcast downgrade and price-target cuts

About Comcast

Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) is a global media and technology company that provides broadband, wireless, video, voice and related services to residential and business customers. Through its connectivity businesses, Comcast offers internet access, mobile service, pay television, telephone service, and home security and automation products, primarily under the Xfinity brand in the United States.

Comcast also operates a broad portfolio of entertainment and media businesses. NBCUniversal includes the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks, cable networks, film and television studios, the Peacock streaming service, and a collection of theme parks.