Reaves W H & Co. Inc. Buys 17,000 Shares of Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR)

Key Points

• Reaves W H & Co. Inc. increased its stake in Charter Communications by 13.9%, acquiring an additional 17,000 shares during the first quarter, now holding a total of 139,153 shares.
• Charter Communications reported an EPS of $9.18 for its last quarter, missing the consensus estimate, although revenue increased by 0.6% year-over-year.
• The company's stock received several upgrades from analysts, with price targets ranging from $380.00 to $510.00, reflecting a generally positive outlook despite a mixed performance in earnings.

Reaves W H & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR - Free Report) by 13.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 139,153 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 17,000 shares during the quarter. Charter Communications comprises approximately 1.3% of Reaves W H & Co. Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 29th largest position. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. owned about 0.10% of Charter Communications worth $51,282,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Charter Communications by 822.8% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,263,721 shares of the company's stock worth $433,167,000 after buying an additional 1,126,783 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Charter Communications by 43,296.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 857,938 shares of the company's stock worth $316,176,000 after buying an additional 855,961 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management lifted its stake in shares of Charter Communications by 8,343.1% in the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 177,305 shares of the company's stock worth $60,775,000 after buying an additional 175,205 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Charter Communications by 21.9% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 900,849 shares of the company's stock worth $308,795,000 after buying an additional 161,547 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its stake in shares of Charter Communications by 42.2% in the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 500,947 shares of the company's stock worth $184,614,000 after buying an additional 148,569 shares during the last quarter. 81.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Christopher L. Winfrey bought 3,670 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 70,243 shares in the company, valued at $19,183,363.30. This trade represents a 5.51% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Balan Nair bought 360 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $274.21 per share, for a total transaction of $98,715.60. Following the acquisition, the director owned 9,622 shares in the company, valued at $2,638,448.62. The trade was a 3.89% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.83% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Charter Communications Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CHTR traded down $2.21 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $256.57. 1,782,047 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,646,453. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $368.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $367.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.57, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.33. Charter Communications, Inc. has a 12 month low of $256.03 and a 12 month high of $437.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.04 billion, a PE ratio of 7.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.02.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CHTR. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Charter Communications from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Charter Communications from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Loop Capital raised shares of Charter Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $430.00 to $510.00 in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Arete Research raised shares of Charter Communications to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Charter Communications from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $380.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $410.59.

Charter Communications Company 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.