Altice USA (NYSE:ATUS) Trading Up 7.8% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Altice USA's share price rose 7.8% to a last traded price of $2.57, despite an 8% decrease in trading volume compared to its average.
• Goldman Sachs assigned a "sell" rating to Altice USA with a target price of $2.00, while the consensus rating remains a "Hold" with an average target price of $3.00.
• Altice USA reported a loss of ($0.21) EPS for the last quarter, missing the consensus estimate, and experienced a 4.2% decline in revenue year-over-year.

Shares of Altice USA, Inc. (NYSE:ATUS - Get Free Report) were up 7.8% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $2.59 and last traded at $2.57. Approximately 3,439,234 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 8% from the average daily volume of 3,755,632 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.38.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Altice USA in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a "sell" rating and a $2.00 price target for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $3.00.

Altice USA Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.26 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.65 and a beta of 1.56. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $2.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $2.41.

Altice USA (NYSE:ATUS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.21) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by ($0.15). The business had revenue of $2.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. The company's revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.03 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Altice USA, Inc. will post -0.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Altice USA

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP acquired a new stake in shares of Altice USA during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. May Hill Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altice USA during the second quarter worth $29,000. R Squared Ltd lifted its position in Altice USA by 56.0% in the first quarter. R Squared Ltd now owns 15,490 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 5,560 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Altice USA by 251.5% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 22,280 shares of the company's stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 15,941 shares during the period. Finally, State of Wyoming acquired a new position in Altice USA during the fourth quarter worth about $57,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.85% of the company's stock.

About Altice USA

Altice USA, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides broadband communications and video services in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. It offers broadband, video, telephony, and mobile services to residential and business customers. The company's video services include delivery of broadcast stations and cable networks; over the top services; video-on-demand, high-definition channels, digital video recorder, and pay-per-view services; and platforms for video programming through mobile applications.