Intech Investment Management LLC Decreases Stock Position in Uniti Group Inc. $UNIT

Key Points

• Intech Investment Management cut its stake in Uniti Group by 77.3%, selling 769,182 shares and leaving it with 225,987 shares (about 0.15% of the company) valued at $1.383 million; overall hedge funds and institutions own roughly 87.51% of UNIT.
• Uniti reported a substantial quarterly EPS miss of ($1.19) versus the ($0.46) consensus despite revenue of $917.3 million that beat estimates and rose 212.8% year-over-year.
• The stock has a market cap of $1.19 billion and a P/E of 2.13, with analysts holding a mixed view—consensus rating is "Hold" with an average target of $7.86 while individual targets range from about $8 to $11.

Intech Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Uniti Group Inc. (NASDAQ:UNIT - Free Report) by 77.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 225,987 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 769,182 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.15% of Uniti Group worth $1,383,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Savant Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Uniti Group by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 63,592 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $275,000 after buying an additional 1,601 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Uniti Group by 2.0% during the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 84,017 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $363,000 after acquiring an additional 1,629 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its position in shares of Uniti Group by 20.6% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 10,511 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 1,795 shares during the last quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Uniti Group by 11.1% in the second quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC now owns 19,236 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 1,924 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Uniti Group by 12.1% in the second quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 35,156 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $152,000 after acquiring an additional 3,806 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.51% of the company's stock.

Uniti Group Price Performance

Shares of UNIT opened at $8.05 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.50. Uniti Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $5.30 and a 12 month high of $11.73. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $7.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $6.84.

Uniti Group (NASDAQ:UNIT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 2nd. The real estate investment trust reported ($1.19) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.46) by ($0.73). Uniti Group had a negative return on equity of 2.52% and a net margin of 55.60%.The firm had revenue of $917.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $909.44 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.35 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 212.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Uniti Group Inc. will post 1.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on UNIT shares. Barclays set a $8.00 price objective on Uniti Group in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Uniti Group from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Uniti Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday, March 1st. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Uniti Group in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $11.00 price target on shares of Uniti Group in a report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $7.86.

About Uniti Group

Uniti Group Inc is a real estate investment trust that owns, operates and acquires communications infrastructure assets across the United States. Established in September 2015 through a spin-off from Windstream Holdings, Uniti Group focuses on leasing fiber, small cell networks, cell towers and related infrastructure to service providers, wireless carriers and other enterprises requiring high-capacity connectivity. The company's assets are designed to support the growing data demands of residential, business and governmental customers, with an emphasis on long-term contractual lease arrangements.

Uniti's portfolio encompasses an extensive fiber network that spans metropolitan and rural markets, as well as a portfolio of wireless towers and small cell nodes that facilitate mobile network densification and help carriers deploy 5G services.

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