Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $23.17, but opened at $27.05. Comcast shares last traded at $25.1910, with a volume of 44,355,953 shares changing hands.

Comcast News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Comcast this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Unlock value by separating Comcast’s slower-growing connectivity business from its media and entertainment assets, potentially reducing the “conglomerate discount.”
• Positive Sentiment: Give each company clearer strategic focus, which may improve execution and make both businesses easier for investors to value.
• Positive Sentiment: Create M&A optionality around NBCUniversal, Sky, Peacock, and related entertainment assets, fueling speculation about future dealmaking.
• Positive Sentiment: Draw bullish analyst reaction; Rosenblatt upgraded the stock to buy and raised its price target, while Citigroup also kept a positive stance despite trimming its target.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CMCSA. Freedom Capital raised shares of Comcast to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. New Street Research lowered their target price on Comcast from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 25th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Comcast in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Zacks Research upgraded Comcast from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities raised Comcast from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $24.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Comcast currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $34.52.

Comcast Stock Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $25.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.67.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The cable giant reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.06. Comcast had a return on equity of 15.47% and a net margin of 15.00%.The firm had revenue of $31.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.09 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Comcast Corporation will post 3.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Comcast Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 1st will be issued a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 1st. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.98%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Comcast

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Comcast by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 369,311,219 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $11,038,712,000 after buying an additional 2,160,829 shares during the last quarter. North Dakota State Investment Board purchased a new stake in Comcast during the 4th quarter worth about $3,754,000. Vest Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Comcast by 72.1% during the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 232,883 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $6,961,000 after acquiring an additional 97,601 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Comcast by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,834,053 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $246,146,000 after acquiring an additional 693,156 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Comcast by 53.8% in the 4th quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 206,112 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $6,161,000 after acquiring an additional 72,129 shares during the last quarter. 84.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Comcast Company Profile

Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA) is a diversified global media and technology company headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its principal operations are organized around Comcast Cable, which provides broadband internet, video, voice and wireless services to residential and business customers in the United States under the Xfinity and Comcast Business brands, and NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment group that develops, produces and distributes content across broadcast and cable networks, film, and streaming platforms.

NBCUniversal’s assets include the NBC broadcast network, a portfolio of cable channels, Universal Pictures and other film and television production businesses, and the Peacock streaming service.