Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.08 EPS

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) posted its earnings results on Thursday. The cable giant reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.08, Zacks reports. Comcast had a net margin of 11.92% and a return on equity of 19.81%.

Comcast Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CMCSA traded down $4.63 on Thursday, hitting $32.74. The stock had a trading volume of 28,090,287 shares, compared to its average volume of 22,671,586. Comcast has a 52-week low of $32.55 and a 52-week high of $47.11. The stock has a market cap of $125.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $39.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $40.15.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Comcast from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Comcast from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Macquarie reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of Comcast in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Pivotal Research lifted their price target on Comcast from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Comcast from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Comcast has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Comcast news, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 25,537 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.59, for a total transaction of $1,087,620.83. Following the sale, the president now owns 534,849 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,779,218.91. This trade represents a 4.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian L. Roberts sold 234,464 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.66, for a total value of $10,002,234.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 6,669,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $284,539,128.48. The trade was a 3.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.