Paramount Global’s (PARA) Buy Rating Reaffirmed at Benchmark

Benchmark reiterated their buy rating on shares of Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Benchmark currently has a $19.00 target price on the stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on PARA. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Paramount Global in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Paramount Global from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com upgraded Paramount Global from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Macquarie restated an “underperform” rating and set a $10.00 price objective on shares of Paramount Global in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Paramount Global currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.58.

Paramount Global Price Performance

Paramount Global stock opened at $11.24 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $7.50 billion, a PE ratio of -1.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.69. Paramount Global has a 12 month low of $9.54 and a 12 month high of $14.54. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $10.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $10.74.

Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.29). Paramount Global had a positive return on equity of 5.81% and a negative net margin of 18.89%. The company had revenue of $7.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.07 billion. Analysts expect that Paramount Global will post 1.77 EPS for the current year.

Paramount Global Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. Paramount Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -2.43%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Paramount Global

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Paramount Global by 24.7% during the fourth quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 12,695 shares of the company’s stock valued at $133,000 after buying an additional 2,512 shares during the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paramount Global in the fourth quarter valued at $5,688,000. Waverly Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paramount Global during the 4th quarter valued at $106,000. Woodline Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Paramount Global during the 4th quarter valued at $11,096,000. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP bought a new stake in shares of Paramount Global during the 4th quarter valued at $1,839,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.00% of the company’s stock.

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.