Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Rating Increased to Hold at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on CMCSA. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Comcast from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Comcast from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Scotiabank lowered their price target on Comcast from $35.25 to $34.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Comcast from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on shares of Comcast from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $34.71.

Comcast Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CMCSA opened at $28.05 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $100.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.22, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.80. The company’s 50-day moving average is $30.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.42. Comcast has a 1-year low of $25.75 and a 1-year high of $36.66.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The cable giant reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $32.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32.35 billion. Comcast had a net margin of 16.17% and a return on equity of 16.86%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.96 EPS. Analysts forecast that Comcast will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

Comcast Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 1st. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Comcast

In related news, CEO Michael J. Cavanagh sold 57,947 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.66, for a total value of $1,892,549.02. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 622,336 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,325,493.76. The trade was a 8.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.32% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Comcast

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CMCSA. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Comcast by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 369,311,219 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $11,038,712,000 after purchasing an additional 2,160,829 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Comcast by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 186,805,081 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $5,583,604,000 after purchasing an additional 6,117,946 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of Comcast by 20.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 140,343,399 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $4,194,929,000 after purchasing an additional 24,166,881 shares during the period. Dodge & Cox grew its holdings in shares of Comcast by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 112,967,514 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $3,376,599,000 after purchasing an additional 399,596 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Comcast by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 89,913,362 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $2,680,747,000 after buying an additional 1,465,428 shares during the period. 84.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Comcast

Here are the key news stories impacting Comcast this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America re‑affirmed Comcast as a “Buy,” signaling institutional conviction despite short‑term weakness — this supports a longer‑term thesis for the stock. BofA Reiterates Comcast
• Positive Sentiment: Comcast is expanding rural and suburban multi‑gig broadband and launched “Total Solutions Advantage,” bundled connectivity + cybersecurity plans for small businesses — initiatives that can drive ARPU growth and enterprise penetration over time. Rural Upgrades & Bundled Cybersecurity
• Positive Sentiment: Comcast Advertising partnered with DISQO to add deterministic TV/streaming attribution, strengthening ad measurement capabilities — a revenue/cross‑sell catalyst for the advertising unit. DISQO Partnership
• Neutral Sentiment: Brokerage consensus remains centered around “Hold”; coverage is mixed which can limit near‑term conviction despite product and network progress. Consensus Hold
• Neutral Sentiment: The stock saw an earlier intraday uptick tied to the SMB plans and network expansion news; that bullish reaction has partially reversed as traders reassess momentum. Intraday Move Explained
• Negative Sentiment: A price‑target cut from Scotiabank (from $35.25 to $34.00) and its “sector perform” stance reduce near‑term upside confidence for some investors, contributing to selling pressure. Scotiabank Lowers PT
• Negative Sentiment: Headline coverage flagged the stock’s pullback as markets broadly gained, reinforcing the narrative of short‑term underperformance and analyst caution (only ~30% of analysts bullish), which pressures sentiment. Zacks: Stock Sinks

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.