StockNews.com Downgrades Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) to Buy

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Comcast from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Macquarie reduced their target price on shares of Comcast from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Loop Capital dropped their target price on shares of Comcast from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Comcast from $45.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities lowered their price target on Comcast from $45.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Comcast presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.13.

Comcast Price Performance

Shares of CMCSA traded down $0.47 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $33.19. 45,403,084 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 26,842,316. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $127.00 billion, a PE ratio of 8.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $40.07. Comcast has a fifty-two week low of $32.50 and a fifty-two week high of $45.38.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.08. Comcast had a net margin of 13.09% and a return on equity of 19.98%. As a group, research analysts predict that Comcast will post 4.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Comcast news, CEO Brian L. Roberts sold 234,464 shares of Comcast stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 6,669,928 shares in the company, valued at approximately $284,539,128.48. The trade was a 3.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 25,537 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.59, for a total transaction of $1,087,620.83. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 534,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,779,218.91. This trade represents a 4.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Comcast

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Comcast by 904.0% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 254,545 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $10,632,000 after purchasing an additional 229,192 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Comcast by 15.2% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 171,440 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $7,161,000 after acquiring an additional 22,684 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Comcast by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 1,920,800 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $80,232,000 after buying an additional 68,139 shares during the period. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of Comcast by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 2,210,469 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $92,331,000 after purchasing an additional 15,807 shares during the period. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Comcast in the third quarter valued at $2,541,000. 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.