Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) Downgraded by Argus

Argus lowered shares of Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on PARA. Wolfe Research raised Paramount Global from an underperform rating to a peer perform rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of Paramount Global from $20.00 to $15.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. StockNews.com cut shares of Paramount Global from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Paramount Global from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an underweight rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $19.00 price target on shares of Paramount Global in a research note on Tuesday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Paramount Global presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $13.58.

Paramount Global Price Performance

NASDAQ:PARA traded down $0.97 on Friday, reaching $12.89. The stock had a trading volume of 67,049,331 shares, compared to its average volume of 24,884,946. 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 company has a market capitalization of $8.41 billion, a P/E ratio of -85.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 1.74. Paramount Global has a 1-year low of $10.12 and a 1-year high of $19.04. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $11.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $12.89.

Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.28. Paramount Global had a positive return on equity of 3.35% and a negative net margin of 0.15%. The business had revenue of $7.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.09 EPS. Paramount Global’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Paramount Global will post 1.32 EPS for the current year.

Paramount Global Dividend Announcement

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Paramount Global

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Kodai Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Paramount Global during the 4th quarter worth approximately $84,842,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Paramount Global during the fourth quarter worth $41,497,000. Lingotto Investment Management LLP lifted its position in Paramount Global by 375.8% in the 4th quarter. Lingotto Investment Management LLP now owns 3,263,978 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,388,000 after acquiring an additional 2,577,978 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Paramount Global by 15.3% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,299,798 shares of the company’s stock worth $171,567,000 after purchasing an additional 1,767,173 shares during the period. Finally, Ariel Investments LLC boosted its stake in Paramount Global by 18.0% in the 3rd 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 period. Institutional investors 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.