Ancora Advisors LLC Sells 87,944 Shares of Starz Entertainment Corp. $STRZ

Key Points

• Ancora Advisors reduced its Starz Entertainment stake by 17.7%, selling 87,944 shares and retaining 409,763 shares worth approximately $11.8 million, or 2.39% of the company.
• Several institutions initiated or increased positions, while insiders bought shares: CEO Jeffrey Hirsch purchased 10,000 shares and insider James Kapenstein bought 1,000 shares. Insiders collectively own 22.62% of Starz.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with a consensus “Hold” rating and a $31.50 price target. Starz reported a steep quarterly loss of $11.27 per share versus an expected loss of $0.59, on revenue of $307.9 million.

Ancora Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in Starz Entertainment Corp. (NASDAQ:STRZ - Free Report) by 17.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 409,763 shares of the company's stock after selling 87,944 shares during the quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC owned 2.39% of Starz Entertainment worth $11,826,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Starz Entertainment in the 1st quarter worth approximately $577,000. NewEdge Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Starz Entertainment by 15.5% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 710,862 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,317,000 after buying an additional 95,245 shares during the period. Strs Ohio lifted its stake in Starz Entertainment by 1,955.5% in the fourth quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 45,900 shares of the company's stock worth $537,000 after acquiring an additional 43,667 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Starz Entertainment in the second quarter valued at $1,411,000. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Starz Entertainment during the 2nd quarter valued at $8,027,000.

Insider Activity at Starz Entertainment

In other Starz Entertainment news, insider James M. Kapenstein purchased 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $25.73 per share, for a total transaction of $25,730.00. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 12,302 shares of the company's stock, valued at $316,530.46. The trade was a 8.85% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jeffrey Hirsch purchased 10,000 shares of Starz Entertainment stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $24.80 per share, with a total value of $248,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 65,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,612,000. This represents a 18.18% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 22.62% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on STRZ. Robert W. Baird set a $30.00 target price on shares of Starz Entertainment and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. B. Riley Financial began coverage on Starz Entertainment in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. They set a "buy" rating and a $45.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut Starz Entertainment from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 25th. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of Starz Entertainment in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of Starz Entertainment in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Starz Entertainment has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $31.50.

Starz Entertainment Stock Performance

STRZ stock opened at $26.52 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $454.13 million, a PE ratio of -1.04 and a beta of 2.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. Starz Entertainment Corp. has a 12-month low of $8.40 and a 12-month high of $32.58. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $27.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.03.

Starz Entertainment (NASDAQ:STRZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 7th. The company reported ($11.27) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.59) by ($10.68). The company had revenue of $307.90 million for the quarter. Starz Entertainment had a negative net margin of 33.98% and a negative return on equity of 25.64%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Starz Entertainment Corp. will post -6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Starz Entertainment Company Profile

Starz Entertainment NASDAQ: STRZ is a global media and entertainment company that operates premium subscription video services across linear television and digital streaming platforms. The company's core offering includes the STARZ and STARZ ENCORE linear networks in the United States, alongside its STARZPLAY streaming service, which is available in North America, parts of Europe, Latin America and select Asian markets. Through its multi-platform distribution strategy, Starz delivers a combination of original programming, feature films and licensed series to a broad subscriber base.

At the heart of Starz Entertainment's business is its investment in original content production.

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