DRW Securities LLC Takes Position in Charter Communications, Inc. $CHTR

Key Points

• DRW Securities LLC has acquired 2,000 shares of Charter Communications, valued at approximately $737,000, marking a new position in the company during the first quarter.
• Charter Communications reported a missed earnings estimate for the last quarter, with earnings per share at $9.18 compared to expectations of $10.06, despite a revenue increase to $13.77 billion.
• A number of hedge funds have increased their stakes in Charter Communications, with institutional investors now owning 81.76% of the company's stock.

DRW Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $737,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Charter Communications by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,191,760 shares of the company's stock worth $3,018,909,000 after purchasing an additional 120,303 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Charter Communications by 53.6% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,310,073 shares of the company's stock worth $851,331,000 after acquiring an additional 806,145 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Charter Communications by 7.0% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,834,807 shares of the company's stock worth $676,181,000 after acquiring an additional 120,624 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Charter Communications by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,283,315 shares of the company's stock worth $472,941,000 after acquiring an additional 19,594 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Charter Communications by 22.0% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,099,293 shares of the company's stock valued at $405,118,000 after purchasing an additional 198,444 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.76% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on CHTR. Loop Capital raised shares of Charter Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $430.00 to $510.00 in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Charter Communications in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $300.00 price target for the company. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Charter Communications from $425.00 to $355.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Charter Communications from $341.00 to $275.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Charter Communications in a research report on Tuesday. They set a "sell" rating and a $223.00 price objective for the company. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $394.61.

Charter Communications Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ CHTR traded down $1.71 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $259.51. 2,801,283 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,512,676. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.57, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.33. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $323.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $357.21. Charter Communications, Inc. has a 1-year low of $254.67 and a 1-year high of $437.06. The stock has a market cap of $35.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.11, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.02.

Charter Communications (NASDAQ:CHTR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The company reported $9.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $10.06 by ($0.88). Charter Communications had a net margin of 9.53% and a return on equity of 26.77%. The firm had revenue of $13.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.76 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $8.49 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Charter Communications, Inc. will post 38.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Christopher L. Winfrey acquired 3,670 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $273.10 per share, with a total value of $1,002,277.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 70,243 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,183,363.30. The trade was a 5.51% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Balan Nair acquired 360 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $274.21 per share, for a total transaction of $98,715.60. Following the transaction, the director owned 9,622 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,638,448.62. This trade represents a 3.89% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.83% of the company's stock.

Charter Communications Profile

Charter Communications, Inc operates as a broadband connectivity and cable operator company serving residential and commercial customers in the United States. The company offers subscription-based internet, video, and mobile and voice services; a suite of broadband connectivity services, including fixed internet, WiFi, and mobile; Advanced WiFi services; Spectrum Security Shield; in-home WiFi, which provides customers with high performance wireless routers and managed WiFi services to enhance their fixed wireless internet experience; out-of-home WiFi; and Spectrum WiFi services.