Paramount Global’s (PARA) “Buy” Rating Reaffirmed at Benchmark

Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by analysts at Benchmark in a report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $19.00 price target on the stock. Benchmark’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 61.02% from the company’s previous close.

PARA has been the topic of several other research reports. Moffett Nathanson upgraded Paramount Global from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Paramount Global from $20.00 to $15.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $13.00 target price on shares of Paramount Global in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Paramount Global from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, Raymond James reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Paramount Global in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Paramount Global currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.79.

Paramount Global Stock Performance

Shares of PARA traded down $0.45 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $11.80. 5,494,826 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,982,125. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $11.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $12.88. The firm has a market cap of $7.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Paramount Global has a 52 week low of $10.12 and a 52 week high of $24.00.

Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 29th. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $7.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.73 billion. Paramount Global had a positive return on equity of 1.78% and a negative net margin of 2.05%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.09 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Paramount Global will post 1.19 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Paramount Global

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PARA. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Paramount Global by 541.7% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 708,662 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,481,000 after buying an additional 598,235 shares during the last quarter. Ariel Investments LLC lifted its stake in Paramount Global by 18.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 11,330,850 shares of the company’s stock valued at $146,168,000 after acquiring an additional 1,731,714 shares in the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Paramount Global in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,240,000. Caprock Group LLC grew its position in shares of Paramount Global by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 50,252 shares of the company’s stock valued at $746,000 after acquiring an additional 1,401 shares during the period. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. raised its stake in Paramount Global by 1,201.5% in the 4th quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 84,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,282,000 after acquiring an additional 78,100 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.00% of the company’s stock.

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.