CMCSA, the ticker symbol for Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ), Comcast Corporation Zacks Research’s stock analysts, in a note to investors that was disseminated on Tuesday, January 3, 2019, raised their projections for Comcast’s earnings per share (EPS) for the fiscal year 2022. The leading player in the cable industry will now earn $3.54 per share this year, an increase from the previous figure of $3.53, as predicted by A. Ganguly, an analyst at Zacks Research. Earnings of $3.60 per share are what most analysts anticipate for Comcast’s full year of operations at this time. The previous projection of $3.40 per share represents an increase over this new estimate. Comcast is expected to earn $0.71 per share in the fourth quarter of 2022, $3.48 per share in the fiscal year 2023, $1.15 per share in the second quarter of 2024, $0.97 per share in the fourth quarter of 2024, $4.21 per share in the fiscal year 2024, according to Zacks Research.
On Thursday, October 27, Comcast’s most recent quarterly earnings report (NASDAQ: CMCSA) was made available to the public. The cable company reported that its quarterly earnings per share (EPS) came in at $0.96, which was $0.07 higher than the consensus forecast of $0.89. In addition, the company’s most recent quarter’s revenue came in at $29.85 billion, significantly higher than the average prediction of $29.68 billion for that quarter’s revenue. Comcast achieved a return on equity of 17.61%, and the net margin for the company was 4.46%.
On Friday morning, the CMCSA stock price was $36.98 when trading got underway. There is a debt-to-equity ratio that works out to 1.18, a quick ratio that works out to 0.84, and a current ratio that also works out to 0.84. The company’s market value is $159.88 billion, and it has a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76, and a beta value of 1.00. These metrics indicate that the company has adequate financial resources. Comcast’s share price has been as low as $28.39 over the past 52 weeks, while it has also been as high as $52.10 over that same period. The company’s simple moving average over the past 50 days is $34.42, and the simple moving average over the past 200 days is $35.55.
Other reports have been written about the CMCSA, and there have been a great many of them. Pivotal Research published a research note on October 27 that announced a price target reduction on Comcast shares from $47.00 to $42.00. The price target reduction was announced about Comcast shares. The rating previously given to Comcast was changed from “underweight” to “equal weight” in a research note made public by Wells Fargo & Company on Monday, December 5. In addition, they raised their price objective for the stock from the previous level of $30.00 to the current level of $38.00. The “buy” rating that StockNews.com had previously assigned to Comcast was changed to a “buy” rating in a research note published on November 2. On Thursday, the recommendation for Comcast was upgraded by Truist Financial from “hold” to “buy,” and a price objective of $50.00 was placed on the company’s shares.
Last but not least, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of Comcast from $54.00 to $50.00 while keeping their “buy” rating on the stock. The information was divulged in a research note that was published on October 18, the day the announcement was made. There have been fourteen different analysts who recommend buying the stock, eight different analysts who recommend holding on to the stock, and two different analysts who recommend selling the stock. The information provided by Bloomberg indicates that the company has been given an overall rating of “Moderate Buy” and that the overall price objective for the business has been set at $45.27.
Recent months have seen several institutional investors make adjustments to the way they are currently invested in the company’s stock. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its Comcast holdings during the second quarter by purchasing an additional 2.3% of its shares. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now holds 10,775 shares of the cable giant’s stock, with a market value of $423,000. This resulted from purchasing an additional 244 shares during the fiscal quarter. First City Capital Management Inc. increased the amount of Comcast stock that it directly owned by 1.4% during the second quarter of the fiscal year. First City Capital Management Inc.’s total ownership stake in the company, which currently has a market cap of $720,000, increased by 256 shares during the most recent fiscal quarter due to the company’s purchase of additional shares. During the second quarter, the Farmers & Merchants Trust Co. of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, increased the amount of Comcast stock it owns by 6.5%, bringing its total ownership percentage to 87.5%. Currently, 4,195 of the cable company’s shares are owned by Farmers & Merchants Trust Co., located in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. After the most recent acquisition of 257 shares during the most recent quarter, the company’s total value is now $165,000, making each share worth $165,000 and the company as a whole worth $165,000 in total. Mirador Capital Partners LP successfully increased the proportion of Comcast stock owned by 1.8% over the second quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now has 14,546 shares of the cable giant’s stock, which has a market value of $571,000, resulting from the purchase of an additional 263 shares during the most recent fiscal quarter. In the first three months of this year, Jmac Enterprises LLC added 4.9% more Comcast stock to its holdings, bringing the total percentage of the company’s holdings to 100%. After making an additional purchase of 267 shares during the most recent quarter, Jmac Enterprises LLC now has a total of 5,720 shares of the cable giant’s stock in its possession. The stock holdings in the cable giant that Jmac Enterprises LLC owns have a total value of $268,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 82.23% of the total number of shares in the company, making them the company’s largest stockholders.
In addition, the company announced that it would begin disbursing a quarterly dividend starting on January 25. Those shareholders recorded as such as of January 4 will be eligible to receive a $0.27 dividend payment per share. On January 3, a decision will be made regarding whether or not this dividend will be distributed to shareholders. This translates to a dividend yield of 2.92% per quarter and a dividend payout of $1.08 per year for each share of stock. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio has currently reached 93.91 percent as of this moment.
Earnings Estimates for Comcast Co. are being raised by Zacks Research Brokers (NASDAQ:CMCSA)
