Shenandoah Telecommunications Co $SHEN Shares Acquired by American Century Companies Inc.

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. has increased its ownership of Shenandoah Telecommunications Co. to a total of 488,650 shares, following the acquisition of 55,432 shares during the first quarter.
• Shenandoah Telecommunications has recently received mixed ratings from analysts, with Wall Street Zen downgrading the stock from a "hold" to a "strong sell", while BWS Financial issued a "buy" rating with a target price of $26.00.
• Insider activity shows significant purchasing of shares, including a major shareholder acquiring over 66,000 shares in total in recent transactions, indicating confidence in the company's future.

American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Shenandoah Telecommunications Co (NASDAQ:SHEN - Free Report) by 12.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 488,650 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 55,432 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.89% of Shenandoah Telecommunications worth $6,142,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new position in Shenandoah Telecommunications in the 1st quarter worth $90,000. Two Sigma Investments LP purchased a new position in shares of Shenandoah Telecommunications in the fourth quarter valued at about $126,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in shares of Shenandoah Telecommunications by 11.2% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 13,735 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $173,000 after acquiring an additional 1,380 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Shenandoah Telecommunications in the fourth quarter worth about $175,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Shenandoah Telecommunications by 44.7% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 14,622 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $184,000 after acquiring an additional 4,517 shares during the period. 61.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wall Street Zen lowered Shenandoah Telecommunications from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $26.00.

Shenandoah Telecommunications Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SHEN remained flat at $13.25 during trading hours on Monday. The company's stock had a trading volume of 397,965 shares, compared to its average volume of 335,747. Shenandoah Telecommunications Co has a fifty-two week low of $9.77 and a fifty-two week high of $16.89. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.87. The firm has a market cap of $726.90 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -23.66 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Shenandoah Telecommunications (NASDAQ:SHEN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported ($0.19) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.20) by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $88.57 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.94 million. Shenandoah Telecommunications had a negative return on equity of 3.78% and a negative net margin of 8.90%. Shenandoah Telecommunications has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Shenandoah Telecommunications Co will post -0.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Shenandoah Telecommunications

In related news, major shareholder Ecp Controlco, Llc bought 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $11.88 per share, for a total transaction of $356,400.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 3,251,550 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,628,414. This represents a 0.93% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher E. French bought 16,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $11.83 per share, with a total value of $198,744.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 410,517 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,856,416.11. This trade represents a 4.27% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders bought 688,806 shares of company stock worth $9,562,748. Company insiders own 4.51% of the company's stock.

About Shenandoah Telecommunications

Shenandoah Telecommunications Company, together with its subsidiaries, provides a range of broadband communication services and cell tower colocation space in the Mid-Atlantic portion of the United States. It operates in two segments, Broadband and Tower. The company Broadband segment offers broadband, video, and voice services to residential and commercial customers in Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Kentucky through hybrid fiber coaxial cable under the Shentel brand; and fiber optic services under the Glo Fiber brand name.