Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC Buys 79,888 Shares of Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA)

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) by 246.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 112,303 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 79,888 shares during the period. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Paramount Global were worth $1,175,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PARA. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in Paramount Global by 140.1% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,395 shares during the period. Ossiam raised its position in Paramount Global by 57.2% in the fourth quarter. Ossiam now owns 2,810 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 1,022 shares during the period. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. bought a new position in Paramount Global in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its position in Paramount Global by 187.8% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 3,094 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 2,019 shares during the period. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Paramount Global in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 73.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Paramount Global from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $12.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $14.00 price target on shares of Paramount Global in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Paramount Global from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Paramount Global from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Paramount Global in a research report on Friday, May 9th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Paramount Global presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $11.58.

Paramount Global Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PARA opened at $11.81 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.27. The company has a market cap of $7.92 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.25. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $11.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.10. Paramount Global has a 52-week low of $9.54 and a 52-week high of $13.05.

Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.02. Paramount Global had a negative net margin of 18.89% and a positive return on equity of 5.81%. The company had revenue of $7.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.62 EPS. Paramount Global’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Paramount Global will post 1.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paramount Global Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.69%. Paramount Global’s payout ratio is currently -2.43%.

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.