Harber Asset Management LLC Acquires New Holdings in Charter Communications, Inc. $CHTR

Key Points

• Harber Asset Management initiated a new position in Charter Communications during the fourth quarter, buying 19,600 shares valued at about $4.09 million. The stake now represents 1.7% of the fund’s portfolio.
• Institutional interest remains high, with several large investors increasing their Charter holdings and about 81.76% of the stock owned by institutions overall.
• Charter reported Q1 earnings of $9.17 per share, which missed analysts’ expectations, while revenue came in slightly above estimates. Insider buying also picked up, including purchases by CEO Christopher Winfrey and Director Balan Nair.

Harber Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 19,600 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,092,000. Charter Communications makes up 1.7% of Harber Asset Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CHTR. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in Charter Communications by 304.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 4,815,422 shares of the company's stock worth $1,005,222,000 after acquiring an additional 3,626,135 shares in the last quarter. Dodge & Cox raised its position in Charter Communications by 23.7% in the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 14,609,220 shares of the company's stock worth $3,049,675,000 after acquiring an additional 2,801,671 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Charter Communications in the fourth quarter worth about $555,383,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its position in Charter Communications by 119.6% in the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 2,969,507 shares of the company's stock worth $619,885,000 after acquiring an additional 1,617,148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its position in Charter Communications by 22.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,961,695 shares of the company's stock worth $2,190,302,000 after acquiring an additional 1,475,383 shares in the last quarter. 81.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their price target on shares of Charter Communications from $160.00 to $150.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Charter Communications from $290.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Benchmark dropped their price target on shares of Charter Communications from $455.00 to $435.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Charter Communications in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Charter Communications from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $290.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Charter Communications news, CEO Christopher L. Winfrey bought 3,468 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were bought 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,815,462.07. This trade represents a 4.89% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Balan Nair bought 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $175.46 per share, for a total transaction of $175,460.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 12,029 shares in the company, valued at $2,110,608.34. This trade represents a 9.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have acquired 20,125 shares of company stock worth $3,167,116 over the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Charter Communications Price Performance

Shares of CHTR opened at $145.82 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $17.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.94, a P/E/G ratio of 0.25 and a beta of 0.71. Charter Communications, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $126.70 and a fifty-two week 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. The business's 50-day moving average is $173.50 and its 200-day moving average is $199.21.

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

Charter Communications Profile

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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