Needham & Company Downgrades Viacom to Hold (VIAB)

Posted by on Aug 5th, 2013

Viacom (NASDAQ:VIAB) was downgraded by investment analysts at Needham & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday, AnalystRatingsNetwork.com reports. The analysts noted that the move was a valuation call.

Shares of Viacom (NASDAQ:VIAB) opened at 79.17 on Monday. Viacom has a one year low of $46.32 and a one year high of $80.93. The stock’s 50-day moving average is currently $70.27. The company has a market cap of $37.859 billion and a P/E ratio of 17.85.

Viacom (NASDAQ:VIAB) last announced its earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.29. The company had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.97 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Viacom will post $4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A number of other firms have also recently commented on VIAB. Analysts at Maxim Group raised their price target on shares of Viacom from $74.00 to $90.00 in a research note to investors on Monday, July 29th. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock. Separately, analysts at Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Viacom from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note to investors on Friday, July 26th. They now have a $73.00 price target on the stock. They noted that the move was a valuation call. Finally, analysts at Barclays Capital raised their price target on shares of Viacom from $73.00 to $80.00 in a research note to investors on Monday, July 22nd. They now have an “overweight” rating on the stock.

Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Viacom presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $71.78.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which is scheduled for Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 11th.

Viacom Inc (NASDAQ:VIAB) is an entertainment content company that connects with audiences through compelling content across television, motion picture, online and mobile platforms in over 160 countries and territories.