Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR) Given Consensus Rating of "Reduce" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts are cautious on Charter Communications, with 20 firms giving the stock an average rating of “Reduce.” The consensus 12-month price target is $278.50, though individual views remain mixed.
• Recent earnings missed expectations, as Charter reported $9.17 EPS versus the $10.01 consensus, while revenue of $13.60 billion was roughly in line with estimates. Revenue still declined 1.0% year over year.
• Insiders and institutions have been buying shares, including two director purchases totaling more than 10,000 shares. Hedge funds own a large majority of the stock, with 81.76% held by institutional investors.

Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Reduce" by the twenty research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $278.50.

CHTR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Benchmark cut their target price on Charter Communications from $455.00 to $435.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Freedom Capital raised Charter Communications to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Charter Communications in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup cut their target price on Charter Communications from $290.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, New Street Research cut their target price on Charter Communications from $328.00 to $302.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Charter Communications

In other Charter Communications news, Director Balan Nair purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $175.46 per share, for a total transaction of $175,460.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 12,029 shares in the company, valued at $2,110,608.34. This trade represents a 9.07% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Mauricio Ramos purchased 9,929 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $140.93 per share, with a total value of $1,399,293.97. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 19,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,721,217.37. This trade represents a 105.85% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders bought 20,125 shares of company stock worth $3,167,116. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Charter Communications

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CHTR. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 3,626,135 shares during the period. Dodge & Cox grew its holdings in shares of Charter Communications by 23.7% during the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 14,609,220 shares of the company's stock worth $3,049,675,000 after purchasing an additional 2,801,671 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Charter Communications during the 4th quarter worth $555,383,000. Voyager Global Management LP boosted its holdings in Charter Communications by 1,380.0% during the 4th quarter. Voyager Global Management LP now owns 1,850,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $386,188,000 after acquiring an additional 1,725,000 shares during the period. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Charter Communications by 119.6% during 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 during the period. 81.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Charter Communications Stock Up 3.1%

NASDAQ CHTR opened at $133.64 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $155.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $194.48. Charter Communications has a one year low of $124.05 and a one year 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. The company has a market cap of $16.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 0.71.

Charter Communications (NASDAQ:CHTR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The company reported $9.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $13.56 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $8.42 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Charter Communications will post 43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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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