Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 53,500,000 shares, a growth of 7.0% from the December 31st total of 49,990,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 19,710,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.7 days. Currently, 1.4% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Comcast Stock Performance

Shares of CMCSA stock opened at $33.19 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $127.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.00, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.00. The company’s 50 day moving average is $38.61 and its 200 day moving average is $40.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Comcast has a 52-week low of $32.50 and a 52-week high of $45.38.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.08. Comcast had a net margin of 13.09% and a return on equity of 19.98%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Comcast will post 4.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. This is an increase from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.98%. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CMCSA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI upgraded Comcast to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Comcast from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Pivotal Research raised their price objective on Comcast from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America downgraded shares of Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $50.00 to $38.00 in a report on Friday. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their price target on shares of Comcast from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.13.

Insider Activity at Comcast

In other news, CEO Brian L. Roberts sold 234,464 shares of the company’s 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 directly owns 6,669,928 shares in the company, valued at $284,539,128.48. This represents a 3.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 25,537 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.59, for a total value of $1,087,620.83. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 534,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,779,218.91. The trade was a 4.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Comcast

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Winch Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Comcast by 269.9% in the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 688 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 502 shares during the period. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Comcast in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Comcast in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Comcast by 365.4% in the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 726 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares during the period. Finally, Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in shares of Comcast in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. 84.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.