Bank of America Cuts Charter Communications (NASDAQ:CHTR) Price Target to $200.00

Key Points

• Bank of America cut its price target on Charter Communications from $250 to $200, while keeping a buy rating on the stock. The new target still implies about 40.6% upside from the current share price.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed overall: Charter now has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $266.31. Other firms recently trimmed targets as well, including Citigroup and Royal Bank of Canada.
• Charter’s latest results showed EPS of $9.17, missing expectations, while revenue of $13.60 billion slightly beat estimates but declined 1.0% year over year. The stock was trading at $142.21 at the time of the report, well below its 52-week high.

Charter Communications (NASDAQ:CHTR - Get Free Report) had its price objective lowered by investment analysts at Bank of America from $250.00 to $200.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the stock. Bank of America's price target indicates a potential upside of 40.64% from the company's current price.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Freedom Capital raised Charter Communications to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Charter Communications from $230.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $210.00 target price on shares of Charter Communications in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Charter Communications from $250.00 to $220.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Charter Communications in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $266.31.

Charter Communications Price Performance

CHTR opened at $142.21 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $152.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $193.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.49 billion, a PE ratio of 3.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.25 and a beta of 0.71. Charter Communications has a 52 week low of $124.05 and a 52 week high of $422.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.56, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.40.

Charter Communications (NASDAQ:CHTR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The company reported $9.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $10.01 by ($0.84). Charter Communications had a return on equity of 24.20% and a net margin of 9.03%.The company had revenue of $13.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $8.42 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Charter Communications will post 43 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Charter Communications

In related news, CEO Christopher L. Winfrey acquired 3,468 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $172.23 per share, for a total transaction of $597,293.64. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 74,409 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,815,462.07. The trade was a 4.89% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas Rutledge sold 18,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.94, for a total value of $2,674,308.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,968 shares in the company, valued at approximately $583,057.92. This trade represents a 82.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders acquired a total of 20,125 shares of company stock valued at $3,167,116 over the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Charter Communications

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dodge & Cox grew its position in Charter Communications by 23.7% in the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 14,609,220 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,049,675,000 after purchasing an additional 2,801,671 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Charter Communications by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,248,287 shares of the company's stock worth $2,139,330,000 after buying an additional 885,935 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Charter Communications by 22.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,961,695 shares of the company's stock worth $2,190,302,000 after buying an additional 1,475,383 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in shares of Charter Communications by 304.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 4,815,422 shares of the company's stock worth $1,005,222,000 after buying an additional 3,626,135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Charter Communications by 119.6% in the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 2,969,507 shares of the company's stock valued at $619,885,000 after acquiring an additional 1,617,148 shares in the last quarter. 81.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Charter Communications

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.

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