Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Sets New 1-Year Low – Here’s Why

Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) shares reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $36.15 and last traded at $36.28, with a volume of 13199495 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $36.45.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on CMCSA shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Comcast from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Comcast from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Macquarie reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of Comcast in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Comcast in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of Comcast from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Comcast presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.33.

Comcast Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72. The company has a market capitalization of $138.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.01. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $40.57 and its 200 day moving average is $40.25.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The cable giant reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $32.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.78 billion. Comcast had a return on equity of 19.81% and a net margin of 11.92%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Comcast Co. will post 4.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 8th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.42%. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Comcast

In other news, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 25,537 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $22,779,218.91. This represents a 4.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian L. Roberts sold 234,464 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.66, for a total transaction of $10,002,234.24. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Comcast

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CMCSA. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new position in Comcast in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Comcast in the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Comcast by 365.4% during the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 726 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Comcast by 220.3% in the 3rd quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 759 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Comcast by 54.8% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 814 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

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.