Charter Communications (NASDAQ:CHTR) Reaches New 52-Week Low - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Charter hit a new 52-week low — shares traded as low as $156.14 (last at $156.52) on heavy volume, down from the prior close of $158.23.
• Analysts are mixed but the consensus is "Hold" — ratings split (6 Buy / 10 Hold / 6 Sell) with an average price target of $315.67, well above the current share price.
• Operational and insider signals — Q1 EPS missed at $9.17 vs. $10.01 expected and revenue was down 1% YoY, the company shows high leverage (debt/equity 4.56) and low liquidity (current/quick ~0.40), while insiders bought ~10,196 shares (~$1.77M) recently.

Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week low on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $156.14 and last traded at $156.52, with a volume of 2950862 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $158.23.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CHTR has been the topic of several research reports. Williams Trading set a $437.00 price objective on shares of Charter Communications in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Benchmark reduced their price target on Charter Communications from $455.00 to $435.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on shares of Charter Communications from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 27th. UBS Group set a $425.00 price target on shares of Charter Communications in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, New Street Research lowered their price target on shares of Charter Communications from $479.00 to $328.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $315.67.

Charter Communications Stock Performance

The firm's 50 day moving average price is $216.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $214.53. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $19.25 billion, a PE ratio of 4.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 0.76.

Charter Communications (NASDAQ:CHTR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $13.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $8.42 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Charter Communications, Inc. will post 43 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Christopher L. Winfrey purchased 3,468 shares of Charter Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $172.23 per share, for a total transaction of $597,293.64. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 74,409 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,815,462.07. This trade represents a 4.89% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Wade Davis purchased 5,728 shares of Charter Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were bought at an average price of $173.72 per share, with a total value of $995,068.16. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,925 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,203,011. The trade was a 478.53% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders purchased a total of 10,196 shares of company stock worth $1,767,822 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CHTR. Quarry LP raised its position in shares of Charter Communications by 153.2% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 119 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in Charter Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. DV Equities LLC acquired a new stake in Charter Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Webster Bank N. A. acquired a new stake in Charter Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. acquired a new stake in Charter Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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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