Handelsbanken Fonder AB Lowers Stock Holdings in Charter Communications, Inc. $CHTR

Key Points

• Handelsbanken Fonder AB cut its Charter Communications stake by 26.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 8,701 shares and leaving it with 24,136 shares valued at about $5.0 million.
• Charter’s latest quarterly results missed earnings expectations, reporting EPS of $9.17 versus the $10.01 consensus, while revenue came in slightly ahead at $13.6 billion and was down 1.0% year over year.
• Insiders bought shares despite the stock’s recent weakness: CEO Christopher L. Winfrey and Director Balan Nair both purchased stock, even as Charter traded down and analysts maintained a cautious overall stance with a consensus rating of “Reduce.”

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lowered its holdings in shares of Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR - Free Report) by 26.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,136 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,701 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB's holdings in Charter Communications were worth $5,038,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Charter Communications by 141.0% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 94 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in Charter Communications during the third quarter worth approximately $38,000. Caitlin John LLC purchased a new position in Charter Communications during the third quarter worth approximately $41,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its position in Charter Communications by 535.0% during the second quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 127 shares of the company's stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its position in Charter Communications by 100.7% during the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 291 shares of the company's stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.76% of the company's stock.

Charter Communications Trading Down 2.5%

CHTR opened at $145.15 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 0.76. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $196.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $206.55. Charter Communications, Inc. has a 1-year low of $136.63 and a 1-year high of $422.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.56, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.40.

Charter Communications (NASDAQ:CHTR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The company reported $9.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $10.01 by ($0.84). Charter Communications had a net margin of 9.03% and a return on equity of 24.20%. The company had revenue of $13.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $8.42 earnings per share. Charter Communications's revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Charter Communications, Inc. will post 43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Christopher L. Winfrey purchased 3,468 shares of Charter Communications stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $172.23 per share, for a total transaction of $597,293.64. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 74,409 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,815,462.07. The trade was a 4.89% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Balan Nair purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $175.46 per share, for a total transaction of $175,460.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 12,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,110,608.34. The trade was a 9.07% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders purchased 20,125 shares of company stock worth $3,167,116. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on CHTR. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on Charter Communications from $235.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 27th. New Street Research lowered their price target on Charter Communications from $328.00 to $302.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Williams Trading set a $437.00 price target on Charter Communications in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on Charter Communications from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on Charter Communications from $290.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 27th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $290.38.

About Charter Communications

Charter Communications, Inc is a U.S.-based telecommunications and mass media company that provides broadband communications and video services to residential and business customers. Operating primarily under the Spectrum brand, the company offers high-speed internet, cable television, digital voice (phone) and wireless services, as well as managed and enterprise networking solutions for commercial customers. Charter's service portfolio targets both consumer and business markets with bundled and standalone offerings designed to meet streaming, connectivity and communications needs.

The company's consumer-facing products include Spectrum Internet, Spectrum TV and Spectrum Voice, while Spectrum Mobile provides wireless service through arrangements with national wireless carriers.

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