Comcast Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) saw unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders acquired 57,519 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 96% compared to the average volume of 29,278 put options.

Comcast Trading Down 1.3%

NASDAQ CMCSA traded down $0.32 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $23.65. 7,160,812 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 32,623,855. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $26.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.87. Comcast has a 12-month low of $23.13 and a 12-month high of $36.66. The firm has a market cap of $84.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.65, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.68.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The cable giant reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.06. Comcast had a net margin of 15.00% and a return on equity of 15.47%. The business had revenue of $31.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.09 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Comcast will post 3.53 EPS for the current year.

Comcast Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 1st will be issued a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 1st. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.6%. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on CMCSA shares. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Comcast from $33.00 to $35.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Comcast in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Comcast in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Comcast from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Comcast from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $34.52.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Comcast by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. now owns 7,532 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $225,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. Cora Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Comcast by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Cora Capital Advisors LLC now owns 11,013 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $329,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. FSA Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Comcast by 5.5% in the third quarter. FSA Advisors Inc. now owns 7,203 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $226,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares during the last quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Comcast by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 5,479 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $164,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WPG Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of Comcast by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 2,801 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 384 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

About Comcast

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.