Uniti Group (NASDAQ:UNIT) Shares Down 9.6% Following Weak Earnings

Uniti Group Inc. (NASDAQ:UNIT)’s stock price was down 9.6% on Thursday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as low as $9.40 and last traded at $9.3760. Approximately 1,561,171 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 33% from the average session volume of 2,327,434 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.37.

The real estate investment trust reported ($0.68) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.43) by ($0.25).

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Uniti Group from $6.50 to $7.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Uniti Group from $8.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Williams Trading set a $12.00 price objective on shares of Uniti Group in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Uniti Group from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, UBS Group set a $12.00 target price on shares of Uniti Group in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Uniti Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $11.14.

Institutional Trading of Uniti Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in Uniti Group by 2,208.3% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 995,163 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $6,976,000 after purchasing an additional 952,050 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Uniti Group by 38.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,202,733 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $162,651,000 after purchasing an additional 6,494,001 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in Uniti Group in the first quarter worth $1,781,000. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC boosted its position in shares of Uniti Group by 38.2% during the fourth quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 398,246 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,792,000 after purchasing an additional 110,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG boosted its position in shares of Uniti Group by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 695,743 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,877,000 after purchasing an additional 75,356 shares in the last quarter. 87.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Uniti Group Trading Down 9.8%

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $11.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.86. The company has a market cap of $2.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.40.

About Uniti Group

Uniti Group Inc is a real estate investment trust that owns, operates and acquires communications infrastructure assets across the United States. Established in September 2015 through a spin-off from Windstream Holdings, Uniti Group focuses on leasing fiber, small cell networks, cell towers and related infrastructure to service providers, wireless carriers and other enterprises requiring high-capacity connectivity. The company’s assets are designed to support the growing data demands of residential, business and governmental customers, with an emphasis on long-term contractual lease arrangements.

Uniti’s portfolio encompasses an extensive fiber network that spans metropolitan and rural markets, as well as a portfolio of wireless towers and small cell nodes that facilitate mobile network densification and help carriers deploy 5G services.