Charter Communications' (CHTR) Underweight Rating Reaffirmed at Wells Fargo & Company

Key Points

• Wells Fargo reissued an Underweight rating on Charter and cut its price target to $180 (from $240), implying roughly an 11.85% downside from the current share price.
• Market-wide analyst sentiment is muted — consensus rating is Reduce (4 Buy, 9 Hold, 7 Sell) with a consensus target of $317.38, and several firms (Goldman, Barclays, Deutsche Bank, BNP Paribas) have recently lowered targets.
• Charter recently missed quarterly EPS ($8.34 vs. $9.66 consensus) with revenue down 0.7% year‑over‑year; the stock trades around $204 while the company carries high leverage (debt/equity 4.89) and weak liquidity (current ratio 0.37).

Charter Communications (NASDAQ:CHTR - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "underweight" rating reissued by Wells Fargo & Company in a report released on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $180.00 price target on the stock, down from their previous price target of $240.00. Wells Fargo & Company's target price would suggest a potential downside of 11.85% from the stock's current price.

CHTR has been the topic of a number of other research reports. KeyCorp restated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Charter Communications in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Charter Communications from $215.00 to $210.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Barclays lowered their target price on Charter Communications from $275.00 to $200.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Charter Communications from $325.00 to $275.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane dropped their target price on shares of Charter Communications from $255.00 to $200.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and seven have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $317.38.

Charter Communications Stock Down 3.0%

Shares of CHTR stock opened at $204.19 on Tuesday. The firm's 50-day moving average is $206.69 and its 200-day moving average is $262.72. Charter Communications has a 52-week low of $193.00 and a 52-week high of $437.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.89, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.37. The stock has a market cap of $26.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.73, a PEG ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.06.

Charter Communications (NASDAQ:CHTR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The company reported $8.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.66 by ($1.32). Charter Communications had a return on equity of 25.55% and a net margin of 9.29%.The business had revenue of $13.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.76 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $8.82 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Charter Communications will post 38.16 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Charter Communications news, Director David C. Merritt sold 1,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.18, for a total value of $271,416.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 10,146 shares in the company, valued at $2,294,822.28. The trade was a 10.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.83% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cooper Financial Group raised its holdings in shares of Charter Communications by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 1,260 shares of the company's stock valued at $515,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co grew its position in Charter Communications by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 880 shares of the company's stock valued at $360,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Charter Communications by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,924 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,604,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its position in shares of Charter Communications by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 2,347 shares of the company's stock valued at $959,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC lifted its position in shares of Charter Communications by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 1,028 shares of the company's stock valued at $420,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.76% of the company's stock.

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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