BNP Paribas Exane Lowers Charter Communications (NASDAQ:CHTR) Price Target to $120.00

Key Points

• BNP Paribas Exane cut its price target on Charter Communications from $150 to $120 and kept an underperform rating, implying downside from the previous close.
• Other analysts have also turned more cautious, with recent target cuts and downgrades contributing to an overall “Reduce” consensus rating and an average price target of $253.81.
• Charter shares fell to about $130.19 in trading, near the stock’s 52-week low, after the company previously reported earnings that missed estimates even though revenue came in slightly above expectations.

Charter Communications (NASDAQ:CHTR - Get Free Report) had its price objective cut by analysts at BNP Paribas Exane from $150.00 to $120.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "underperform" rating on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane's target price would suggest a potential downside of 7.83% from the company's previous close.

CHTR has been the topic of a number of other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Charter Communications from $185.00 to $125.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Benchmark decreased their price target on shares of Charter Communications from $455.00 to $435.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Zacks Research cut shares of Charter Communications from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Charter Communications from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Freedom Capital raised Charter Communications to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $253.81.

Charter Communications Stock Performance

Charter Communications stock traded down $1.18 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $130.19. 944,541 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,692,884. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $139.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $188.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.01 billion, a PE ratio of 3.52, a P/E/G ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 0.71. Charter Communications has a one year low of $124.05 and a one year high of $402.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.56.

Charter Communications (NASDAQ:CHTR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 24th. The company reported $9.17 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $13.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $8.42 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Charter Communications will post 42.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Charter Communications news, Director Wade Davis purchased 5,728 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $173.72 per share, for a total transaction of $995,068.16. Following the purchase, the director owned 6,925 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,203,011. This represents a 478.53% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas Rutledge sold 18,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.94, for a total transaction of $2,674,308.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,968 shares of the company's stock, 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have purchased 20,125 shares of company stock valued at $3,167,116. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Charter Communications

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC boosted its position in shares of Charter Communications by 1,804.0% in the fourth quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 102,528 shares of the company's stock valued at $21,403,000 after acquiring an additional 97,143 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Charter Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,911,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Charter Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $555,383,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in 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 worth $619,885,000 after purchasing an additional 1,617,148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd lifted its stake in Charter Communications by 110.7% in the 4th quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 31,239 shares of the company's stock worth $6,521,000 after purchasing an additional 16,415 shares in the last quarter. 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.

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