UPDATE: Nomura Raises PT to $48 on Comcast Corporation on Accretive Acquisition

Nomura maintained Comcast Corporation

with a Buy rating and raised the price target from $44.00 to $48.00. Nomura noted, "The acquisition of GE‟s stake in NBCU is accretive to both earnings and FCF, and improves Comcast‟s ability to invest across both NBCU and Cable. The $2bn buyback for 2013 is below our prior $4bn estimate but is due to Comcast maintaining a conservative balance sheet, and we forecast $2bn for 2014 as well. We estimate the 2.4x pro forma leverage falls to 1.6x by 2015, leaving $10bn of debt capacity within the 1.5-2.0x target range. Cable revenue growth accelerated throughout the year in 2012, ending at 7.0% in 4Q. … We expect the buyback to stay at $2bn in 2014 as the company delevers, but see the company getting within its target leverage range by year-end." Comcast Corporation closed at $40.13 on Wednesday.