Empyrean Capital Partners LP Purchases 2,400,000 Shares of Altice USA, Inc. $ATUS

Key Points

• Empyrean Capital Partners LP increased its stake in Altice USA by 13.6%, now holding a total of 20,100,000 shares, constituting approximately 1.9% of its portfolio.
• Analysts have mixed views on Altice USA, with Barclays raising its price target to $3.00 and others giving the company a "Hold" rating, resulting in a consensus target price of $3.05.
• Altice USA reported a quarterly earnings miss, with EPS of ($0.21), falling short of the estimated ($0.06), and revenue of $2.15 billion, down 4.2% compared to the prior year.

Empyrean Capital Partners LP lifted its holdings in shares of Altice USA, Inc. (NYSE:ATUS - Free Report) by 13.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,100,000 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,400,000 shares during the quarter. Altice USA accounts for about 1.9% of Empyrean Capital Partners LP's holdings, making the stock its 11th largest position. Empyrean Capital Partners LP owned about 4.34% of Altice USA worth $53,466,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of ATUS. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Altice USA in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. R Squared Ltd lifted its stake in Altice USA by 56.0% during the first quarter. R Squared Ltd now owns 15,490 shares of the company's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 5,560 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of Altice USA in the 4th quarter valued at about $57,000. Nuveen Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altice USA in the 4th quarter valued at about $60,000. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new position in Altice USA during the 1st quarter valued at about $81,000. 54.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altice USA Price Performance

ATUS stock traded down $0.10 on Friday, reaching $2.24. 3,139,317 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,537,752. Altice USA, Inc. has a one year low of $1.88 and a one year high of $3.20. The company has a market cap of $1.05 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.85 and a beta of 1.56. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $2.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $2.44.

Altice USA (NYSE:ATUS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.21) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.06) by ($0.15). The company had revenue of $2.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.03 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Altice USA, Inc. will post -0.24 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ATUS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price target on Altice USA from $2.00 to $3.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Altice USA in a report on Tuesday. They set a "sell" rating and a $2.00 target price on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $3.00.

About Altice USA

Altice USA, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides broadband communications and video services in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. It offers broadband, video, telephony, and mobile services to residential and business customers. The company's video services include delivery of broadcast stations and cable networks; over the top services; video-on-demand, high-definition channels, digital video recorder, and pay-per-view services; and platforms for video programming through mobile applications.