Good news for customers of entertainment giant Comcast (CMCSA), as Comcast made a few changes to its Xfinity Mobile plans. These plans should prove welcome, especially for those with unlimited plans. The “data threshold” is out, but so too are “by-the-Gig” packages for new customers. This was good enough for shareholders, who gave Comcast shares a nearly 2% jump in Thursday morning’s trading.
Claim 30% Off TipRanks
- Unlock hedge fund-level data and powerful investing tools for smarter, sharper decisions
- Discover top-performing stock ideas and upgrade to a portfolio of market leaders with Smart Investor Picks
The “data threshold” is the tool that many communications companies liked to use to make sure their “unlimited” plan was still technically accurate but basically unusable after a certain point. Once users used 30 gigabytes of data, their speeds would be sharply reduced. But now, Comcast is pulling that artificial limit out of the picture. Comcast also removed the “by-the-Gig” plans for new customers, meaning they will no longer be charged per gigabyte downloaded.
Comcast reps noted, “Customers on earlier generations of our unlimited plans will no longer have data thresholds. While this was once a common industry practice, this change ensures Xfinity Mobile customers get a more consistent, high-quality experience at an incredible value.”
Legal Wrangling
Meanwhile, Comcast also took aim at Echostar (SATS), parent company of DISH Wireless. Reports suggest that Comcast is out for $54 million in damages over what Comcast calls a breach in a key business contract.
Comcast and DISH had a master service agreement together, reports noted, that set up a framework for “ongoing services.” These included “…elements critical to its network infrastructure and business expansion efforts.” But DISH attempted to invoke a force majeure clause in the contract after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) started an investigation. Comcast, for its part, asserts the invocation was “unwarranted,” and that the investigation did not qualify under force majeure.
Is Comcast Stock a Good Buy Right Now?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on CMCSA stock based on four Buys, 11 Holds and two Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 16.79% loss in its share price over the past year, the average CMCSA price target of $31.93 per share implies 10.54% upside potential.
