Charter Communications (NASDAQ:CHTR) Downgraded to “Strong Sell” Rating by Zacks Research

Charter Communications (NASDAQ:CHTR) was downgraded by Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $235.00 target price on shares of Charter Communications in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Charter Communications in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Charter Communications from $230.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Charter Communications from $185.00 to $125.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Charter Communications from $250.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $260.06.

Charter Communications Stock Performance

Shares of CHTR stock opened at $138.02 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $16.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.73, a PEG ratio of 0.24 and a beta of 0.71. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $142.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $190.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.56. Charter Communications has a 12 month low of $124.05 and a 12 month high of $413.14.

Charter Communications (NASDAQ:CHTR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The company reported $9.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.01 by ($0.84). The business had revenue of $13.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.56 billion. Charter Communications had a net margin of 9.03% and a return on equity of 24.20%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $8.42 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Charter Communications will post 42.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Charter Communications

In related news, CEO Christopher L. Winfrey purchased 3,468 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $172.23 per share, for a total transaction of $597,293.64. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 74,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,815,462.07. The trade was a 4.89% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Wade Davis purchased 5,728 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were bought at an average price of $173.72 per share, with a total value of $995,068.16. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 6,925 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,203,011. The trade was a 478.53% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have bought 20,125 shares of company stock worth $3,167,116 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Charter Communications

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CHTR. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division raised its position in Charter Communications by 3.0% in the second quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock worth $766,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Charter Communications by 255.9% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 669 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 481 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Charter Communications by 146.2% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 965 shares of the company’s stock worth $208,000 after purchasing an additional 573 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Charter Communications by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,762 shares of the company’s stock valued at $380,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Honeycomb Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Charter Communications in the first quarter valued at about $12,737,000. 81.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Charter Communications Company Profile

Charter Communications, Inc is a U.S.-based telecommunications and mass media company that provides broadband communications and video services to residential and business customers. Operating primarily under the Spectrum brand, the company offers high-speed internet, cable television, digital voice (phone) and wireless services, as well as managed and enterprise networking solutions for commercial customers. Charter’s service portfolio targets both consumer and business markets with bundled and standalone offerings designed to meet streaming, connectivity and communications needs.

The company’s consumer-facing products include Spectrum Internet, Spectrum TV and Spectrum Voice, while Spectrum Mobile provides wireless service through arrangements with national wireless carriers.