Benchmark Reaffirms “Buy” Rating for Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA)

Benchmark reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $19.00 price objective on the stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Paramount Global from $20.00 to $15.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a neutral rating and issued a $13.00 price objective on shares of Paramount Global in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Needham & Company LLC lowered shares of Paramount Global from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Paramount Global from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an underweight rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of Paramount Global from a neutral rating to a sell rating and cut their price objective for the company from $17.00 to $11.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Paramount Global presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $13.58.

Paramount Global Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PARA traded down $0.97 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $12.89. 66,615,145 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 20,278,648. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $11.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $12.88. Paramount Global has a 52-week low of $10.12 and a 52-week high of $19.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.41 billion, a PE ratio of -92.39, a P/E/G ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 1.74.

Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $7.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.73 billion. Paramount Global had a negative net margin of 0.15% and a positive return on equity of 3.35%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.09 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Paramount Global will post 1.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Paramount Global Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 17th. Paramount Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -133.32%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Paramount Global

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PARA. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Paramount Global by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 58,286,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $862,058,000 after buying an additional 626,256 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Paramount Global by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 14,832,568 shares of the company’s stock valued at $191,340,000 after acquiring an additional 1,272,851 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Paramount Global by 15.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,299,798 shares of the company’s stock valued at $171,567,000 after purchasing an additional 1,767,173 shares in the last quarter. Ariel Investments LLC increased its position in Paramount Global by 18.0% in the third quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 11,330,850 shares of the company’s stock worth $146,168,000 after purchasing an additional 1,731,714 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kodai Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Paramount Global during the fourth quarter valued at $84,842,000. 73.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Paramount Global

Paramount Global operates as a media, streaming, and entertainment company worldwide. It operates through TV Media, Direct-to-Consumer, and Filmed Entertainment segments. The TV Media segment operates CBS Television Network, a domestic broadcast television network; CBS Stations, a television station; and international free-to-air networks comprising Network 10, Channel 5, Telefe, and Chilevisión; domestic premium and basic cable networks, such as Paramount+ with Showtime, MTV, Comedy Central, Paramount Network, The Smithsonian Channel, Nickelodeon, BET Media Group, and CBS Sports Network; and international extensions of these brands.