Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Short Interest Update

Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of February. As of February 29th, there was short interest totalling 48,090,000 shares, a decrease of 6.0% from the February 14th total of 51,150,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 19,680,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.4 days. Approximately 1.2% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup increased their price objective on Comcast from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price objective on Comcast from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 22nd. Pivotal Research increased their price target on Comcast from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 13th. StockNews.com raised Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Comcast from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Comcast presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.67.

Comcast Price Performance

Comcast stock opened at $42.80 on Monday. Comcast has a one year low of $35.28 and a one year high of $47.46. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $43.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $170.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.50, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.98.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The cable giant reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.04. Comcast had a return on equity of 19.75% and a net margin of 12.66%. The company had revenue of $31.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.41 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Comcast will post 4.31 EPS for the current year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 3rd will be issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.90%. This is an increase from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Comcast’s payout ratio is currently 33.33%.

Insider Activity at Comcast

In related news, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 114,749 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.10, for a total value of $5,289,928.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Comcast in the fourth quarter valued at about $5,828,000. Leo Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Comcast during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,173,000. MONECO Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Comcast by 16.2% in the 4th quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC now owns 7,220 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $317,000 after purchasing an additional 1,004 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Comcast in the 4th quarter worth approximately $382,000. Finally, Rovin Capital UT ADV lifted its stake in shares of Comcast by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. Rovin Capital UT ADV now owns 14,988 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $657,000 after acquiring an additional 2,259 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.85% of the company’s stock.

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.