The Dividend Daily

On Friday analysts at Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded Viacom, Inc. (VIAB) and raised its price target.

The analysts upgraded VIAB from “Neutral” to “Buy” with a price target of $65, up from $54.50. This new target suggests a +11% upside to Thursday’s closing price of $58.50.

Janney Montgomery Scott analyst Tony Wible commented, “We are upgrading VIA to BUY from Neutral, as we see continued ratings improvement from programming investments, a more promising Paramount slate, and a lean expense structure capable of producing more earnings leverage. Furthermore, we see VIA benefiting from its exposure to 2nd screen advertising, new consumer product sales, an incremental Marvel payout, improving FX trends, digital sales, capital structure improvements, and international growth. We believe risk around macro conditions is improving along with ratings to reduce uncertainty in ad revenue that should build into fall 2013. We continue to watch for signs of OTT cannibalization but have seen this threat stabilize in recent months.”

Viacom shares were flat during premarket trading on Friday. The stock is up +23.78% over the past year.

The Bottom Line
Shares of Viacom (VIAB) have a 1.88% dividend yield, based on last night’s closing stock price of $58.50. The stock has technical support in the $54 price area. The shares are trading near all-time highs.

Viacom, Inc. (VIAB) is not recommended at this time, holding a Dividend.com DARS™ Rating of 3.4 out of 5 stars.

Be sure to visit our complete recommended list of the Best Dividend Stocks, as well as a detailed explanation of our ratings system here.