Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” from Analysts

Shares of Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) have received an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the fourteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $12.10.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 price objective on shares of Paramount Global in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Paramount Global from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Paramount Global in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $14.00 price objective on shares of Paramount Global in a report on Thursday, February 27th.

Paramount Global Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ PARA opened at $11.74 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $11.10 and its 200-day moving average is $10.82. The stock has a market cap of $7.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.60. Paramount Global has a twelve month low of $9.54 and a twelve month high of $14.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85.

Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) last announced 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). The firm had revenue of $7.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.07 billion. Paramount Global had a positive return on equity of 5.81% and a negative net margin of 18.89%. Equities research analysts predict that Paramount Global will post 1.77 EPS for the current year.

Paramount Global Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.70%. Paramount Global’s payout ratio is -2.15%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Paramount Global

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Paramount Global by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 67,040,366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $701,242,000 after purchasing an additional 761,561 shares during the period. Lingotto Investment Management LLP raised its holdings in shares of Paramount Global by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Lingotto Investment Management LLP now owns 44,753,299 shares of the company’s stock valued at $468,120,000 after purchasing an additional 1,593,579 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Paramount Global by 18.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 44,154,027 shares of the company’s stock valued at $470,695,000 after purchasing an additional 6,848,037 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Paramount Global by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 20,593,954 shares of the company’s stock valued at $215,413,000 after purchasing an additional 1,119,314 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Paramount Global by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,567,531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $162,731,000 after acquiring an additional 724,565 shares during the period. 73.00% of the stock is 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.