Mackenzie Financial Corp Increases Position in Uniti Group Inc. (NASDAQ:UNIT)

Key Points

• Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in Uniti Group Inc. by 921.4% in the first quarter, acquiring 276,774 shares and bringing its total holdings to 306,812 shares valued at approximately $1.55 million.
• Institutional investors now own 87.51% of Uniti Group's stock, indicating significant backing from large funds and suggesting a strong confidence in the company's potential.
• The company reported earnings of $0.35 per share for the last quarter, meeting analysts' expectations, with revenue up 2.6% year-over-year at approximately $293.91 million.

Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Uniti Group Inc. (NASDAQ:UNIT - Free Report) by 921.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 306,812 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 276,774 shares during the quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp owned about 0.12% of Uniti Group worth $1,546,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Uniti Group by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,317,569 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $34,754,000 after buying an additional 101,702 shares in the last quarter. Apollo Management Holdings L.P. raised its holdings in Uniti Group by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Apollo Management Holdings L.P. now owns 5,239,917 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $28,820,000 after acquiring an additional 231,977 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Uniti Group by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,748,895 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $15,119,000 after acquiring an additional 295,104 shares in the last quarter. King Street Capital Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Uniti Group by 66.7% in the fourth quarter. King Street Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,600,000 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $14,300,000 after acquiring an additional 1,040,000 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Uniti Group by 42.0% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,787,257 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $9,830,000 after acquiring an additional 529,050 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.51% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on UNIT shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Uniti Group from $4.50 to $7.50 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $5.30 price target on shares of Uniti Group in a research report on Friday, May 16th.

Uniti Group Trading Down 5.3%

Shares of Uniti Group stock traded down $0.38 during trading on Friday, hitting $6.64. The stock had a trading volume of 1,165,319 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,162,232. Uniti Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $6.70 and a 12 month high of $12.62. The firm has a market cap of $981.85 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.20 and a beta of 1.47. The business's 50-day moving average is $4.81 and its 200 day moving average is $4.94.

Uniti Group (NASDAQ:UNIT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.06). Uniti Group had a negative return on equity of 1.43% and a net margin of 2.96%. The business had revenue of $300.73 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $304.06 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.34 earnings per share. Uniti Group's quarterly revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Uniti Group Inc. will post 1.28 EPS for the current year.

Uniti Group Profile

Uniti Group, Inc is a real estate investment trust company, which engages in the acquisition, construction, and leasing of properties. It operates through the following business segments: Uniti Leasing, Uniti Fiber, and Corporate. The Uniti Leasing segment involves mission-critical communications assets on exclusive or shared-tenant basis, and dark fiber network.