Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Shares Gap Up After Earnings Beat

Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) shares gapped up before the market opened on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $42.24, but opened at $45.21. Comcast shares last traded at $43.75, with a volume of 4,790,316 shares traded.

The cable giant reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $32.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.78 billion. Comcast had a return on equity of 20.17% and a net margin of 12.46%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share.

Comcast Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 8th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 8th. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CMCSA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Comcast in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Comcast in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com lowered Comcast from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Comcast from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, Macquarie reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of Comcast in a research report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Comcast has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.63.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Comcast

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norden Group LLC raised its position in shares of Comcast by 15.8% during the 1st quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 21,212 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $920,000 after acquiring an additional 2,902 shares in the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Comcast by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 94,411 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $4,093,000 after buying an additional 5,629 shares in the last quarter. Choreo LLC grew its position in shares of Comcast by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 38,970 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $1,689,000 after buying an additional 1,350 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas acquired a new stake in Comcast during the 1st quarter worth $4,117,000. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Comcast by 50.0% in the first quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 32,985 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $1,430,000 after acquiring an additional 10,994 shares during the last quarter. 84.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Comcast Stock Down 0.3 %

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $40.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The company has a market cap of $168.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.01.

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.