Paramount Global’s (PARA) “Buy” Rating Reaffirmed at Benchmark

Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by investment analysts at Benchmark in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $19.00 target price on the stock. Benchmark’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 70.34% from the company’s current price.

PARA has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Macquarie restated an “underperform” rating and set a $10.00 target price on shares of Paramount Global in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Paramount Global from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com raised shares of Paramount Global from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Paramount Global in a research note on Thursday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Paramount Global has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.58.

Paramount Global Price Performance

PARA traded down $0.07 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $11.15. The company had a trading volume of 4,232,070 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,941,316. Paramount Global has a twelve month low of $9.54 and a twelve month high of $14.54. The company has a market capitalization of $7.44 billion, a PE ratio of -1.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.27. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $10.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.73.

Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.11) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.29). Paramount Global had a negative net margin of 18.89% and a positive return on equity of 5.81%. The company had revenue of $7.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.07 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Paramount Global will post 1.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PARA. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of Paramount Global by 140.1% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,395 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Paramount Global by 162.8% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,573 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank increased its position in shares of Paramount Global by 129.0% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 2,771 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 1,561 shares during the last quarter. Ossiam boosted its position in Paramount Global by 57.2% during the fourth quarter. Ossiam now owns 2,810 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,022 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. acquired a new position in Paramount Global during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 73.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Paramount Global

Paramount Global operates as a media, streaming, and entertainment company worldwide. It operates through TV Media, Direct-to-Consumer, and Filmed Entertainment segments. The TV Media segment operates CBS Television Network, a domestic broadcast television network; CBS Stations, a television station; and international free-to-air networks comprising Network 10, Channel 5, Telefe, and Chilevisión; domestic premium and basic cable networks, such as Paramount+ with Showtime, MTV, Comedy Central, Paramount Network, The Smithsonian Channel, Nickelodeon, BET Media Group, and CBS Sports Network; and international extensions of these brands.