Needham & Company LLC Downgrades Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) to Hold

Needham & Company LLC lowered shares of Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Paramount Global from an underperform rating to a peer perform rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Paramount Global from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an underweight rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Benchmark dropped their target price on shares of Paramount Global from $30.00 to $19.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Raymond James reiterated a market perform rating on shares of Paramount Global in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic downgraded Paramount Global from a neutral rating to a sell rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $17.00 to $11.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Paramount Global currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $13.58.

Paramount Global Trading Down 7.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PARA traded down $0.97 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $12.89. 66,615,145 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,278,648. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.29. Paramount Global has a twelve month low of $10.12 and a twelve month high of $19.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -92.39, a PEG ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 1.74. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $11.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $12.88.

Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.28. Paramount Global had a positive return on equity of 3.35% and a negative net margin of 0.15%. The firm had revenue of $7.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.09 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Paramount Global will post 1.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paramount Global Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 17th will be paid a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 17th. Paramount Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -133.32%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Paramount Global

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Paramount Global by 541.7% during the 4th 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 lifted its holdings in shares of Paramount Global by 18.0% in the third quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 11,330,850 shares of the company’s stock valued at $146,168,000 after purchasing 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 third quarter valued at approximately $1,240,000. Caprock Group LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 last quarter. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. grew its holdings 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 worth $1,282,000 after buying an additional 78,100 shares in the last quarter. 73.00% of the stock is owned by 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.