Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Buy

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Thursday.

CMCSA has been the subject of several other research reports. Seaport Res Ptn raised Comcast from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Scotiabank raised shares of Comcast from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $47.75 to $48.00 in a report on Friday, November 1st. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Comcast in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Comcast from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Comcast from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.06.

Comcast Price Performance

CMCSA stock traded down $0.46 during trading on Thursday, reaching $37.40. 22,608,311 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,663,998. Comcast has a 52-week low of $36.43 and a 52-week high of $47.11. 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 cap of $143.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.05, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.99. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $42.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $40.30.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Comcast

In other Comcast news, CEO Brian L. Roberts sold 234,464 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.66, for a total transaction of $10,002,234.24. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 25,537 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 534,849 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,779,218.91. This represents a 4.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Comcast by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 30,584 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $1,277,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Taurus Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Comcast by 2.9% in the third quarter. Taurus Asset Management LLC now owns 9,125 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $381,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Comcast by 3.1% during the third quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,445 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $353,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Comcast by 4.7% in the third quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,829 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $243,000 after buying an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenwich Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Comcast by 2.7% in the second quarter. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,754 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $382,000 after buying an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. 84.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Comcast

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.