Comcast Q1 Profit & Revenue Rise, Beating View (CMCSA)

Cable television and Internet provider Comcast Corporation ( CMCSA ) said Wednesday that its first quarter profit rose 12% from last year, as the company added a better-than-expected amount of new customers.

The Philadelphia-based company reported first-quarter net income of $866 million, or 31 cents per share, compared with $772 million, or 27 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Revenue rose nearly 4% from last year, to $9.2 billion.

On average, Wall Street analysts expected a slightly smaller profit of 30 cents per share, on a bit lower revenue of $9.15 billion.

CEO Brian L. Roberts said in a recent interview that the company is hopeful its proposed deal to buy media giant NBC Universal from General Electric ( GE ) would close by the end of the year.

Comcast shares rose 82 cents, or +4.4%, in premarket trading Wednesday.

The Bottom Line
We have avoided shares of CMCSA since our early June 2008 coverage began, when the stock was trading at $21.94. The company has a dividend yield of 2.06%, based on last night's closing stock price of $18.46. The stock has technical support in the $16-$17 price area. If the shares can firm up, we see overhead resistance around the $21-$22 price levels. We would remain on the sidelines for now.

Comcast Corporation ( CMCSA ) is not recommended at this time, holding a Dividend.com DARS™ Rating of 3.4 out of 5 stars.

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