Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Reduce" from Analysts

Key Points

• Charter Communications has a consensus analyst rating of “Reduce”, with 6 sell ratings, 9 hold ratings and 5 buy ratings among 20 covering brokerages. The average 12-month price target is about $290.38.
• The stock has fallen to around $140.27, near its 52-week low of $136.63 and far below its 52-week high of $422.29. It is also trading well under its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Charter recently missed earnings estimates, reporting $9.17 EPS versus the expected $10.01, while revenue of $13.60 billion slightly topped forecasts. Insiders have also been buying shares, including CEO Christopher Winfrey and director Balan Nair.

Shares of Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of "Reduce" from the twenty brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $290.3750.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CHTR shares. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on Charter Communications from $250.00 to $220.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Charter Communications in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $215.00 price target for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $210.00 price target on shares of Charter Communications in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. New Street Research cut their price target 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. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target 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.

Charter Communications Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of Charter Communications stock opened at $140.27 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $188.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $203.39. The company has a market cap of $17.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.25 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.56. Charter Communications has a 1 year low of $136.63 and a 1 year high of $422.29.

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 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 firm had revenue of $13.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.56 billion. During the same period last 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 expect that Charter Communications will post 43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Charter Communications

In related news, CEO Christopher L. Winfrey acquired 3,468 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $172.23 per share, with a total value of $597,293.64. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer 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 link. Also, Director Balan Nair acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were bought 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. The trade was a 9.07% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders bought 20,125 shares of company stock worth $3,167,116. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CHTR. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Charter Communications during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Quarry LP increased its holdings in shares of Charter Communications by 153.2% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 119 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Charter Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Charter Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Charter Communications by 141.0% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 94 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.76% of the company's stock.

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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