Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) Shares Gap Up to $10.97

Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $10.97, but opened at $11.94. Paramount Global shares last traded at $12.08, with a volume of 6,755,488 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on PARA. Raymond James reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Paramount Global in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Paramount Global from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Moffett Nathanson raised Paramount Global from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded Paramount Global from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $17.00 to $11.00 in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Paramount Global from $20.00 to $15.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $13.79.

Paramount Global Stock Up 9.7 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company has a market cap of $7.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 1.77. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $11.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $12.85.

Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by $0.09. The business had revenue of $7.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.80 billion. Paramount Global had a positive return on equity of 1.78% and a negative net margin of 2.05%. The company’s revenue was down 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.08 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Paramount Global will post 1.2 EPS for the current year.

Paramount Global Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 17th will be issued a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 17th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.66%. Paramount Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -19.61%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Paramount Global

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Paramount Global by 541.7% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 708,662 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,481,000 after purchasing an additional 598,235 shares during the last quarter. Ariel Investments LLC raised its position in Paramount Global by 18.0% during the third quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 11,330,850 shares of the company’s stock valued at $146,168,000 after buying an additional 1,731,714 shares during the period. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Paramount Global during the third quarter valued at $1,240,000. Caprock Group LLC raised its position in Paramount Global by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 50,252 shares of the company’s stock valued at $746,000 after buying an additional 1,401 shares during the period. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. raised its position in Paramount Global by 1,201.5% during the fourth quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 84,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,282,000 after buying an additional 78,100 shares during the period. 73.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paramount Global Company Profile

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.