Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Shares Gap Up After Earnings Beat

Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) shares gapped up prior to trading on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $42.24, but opened at $45.21. Comcast shares last traded at $43.75, with a volume of 4,790,316 shares.

The cable giant reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $32.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.78 billion. Comcast had a return on equity of 20.17% and a net margin of 12.46%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.08 EPS.

Comcast Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 8th. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on CMCSA shares. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Comcast from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com cut Comcast from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Comcast from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. KeyCorp upped their price target on Comcast from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Pivotal Research raised their price objective on shares of Comcast from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Comcast has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.63.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Comcast

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in Comcast by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 7,372 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $308,000 after buying an additional 413 shares during the last quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Comcast by 1.7% during the third quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 63,936 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $2,671,000 after acquiring an additional 1,067 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Comcast by 26.2% in the third quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 32,853 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $1,372,000 after acquiring an additional 6,818 shares during the last quarter. Processus Wealth & Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Comcast by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Processus Wealth & Capital Management LLC now owns 44,934 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $1,877,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in Comcast by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,501,326 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $104,480,000 after purchasing an additional 57,848 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Comcast Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.66. The company has a market cap of $168.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.59, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.01. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $40.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.58.

Comcast Company Profile

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.