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

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

CMCSA has been the topic of a number of other research reports. BNP Paribas lowered Comcast from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $34.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Comcast from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on Comcast from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Comcast in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $44.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Comcast from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.58.

Comcast Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CMCSA opened at $40.59 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $157.18 billion, a PE ratio of 10.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.01. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $39.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $39.61. Comcast has a fifty-two week low of $36.43 and a fifty-two week high of $47.11.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The cable giant reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.09. Comcast had a return on equity of 20.17% and a net margin of 12.46%. The company had revenue of $29.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.13 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Comcast will post 4.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Comcast

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Steph & Co. raised its stake in shares of Comcast by 154.6% in the first quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 611 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Comcast in the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Comcast in the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A purchased a new stake in shares of Comcast in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Comcast by 204.7% in the second quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 777 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 522 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.