Pzena Investment Management LLC Sells 286,366 Shares of Charter Communications, Inc. $CHTR

Key Points

• Pzena Investment Management cut its Charter Communications stake by 70.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 286,366 shares and leaving it with 118,715 shares worth about $24.8 million.
• Charter reported quarterly EPS of $9.17, below Wall Street expectations of $10.01, while revenue came in at $13.6 billion, slightly ahead of estimates but down 1% from a year earlier.
• Despite mixed fundamentals and a consensus analyst rating of “Reduce”, Charter saw recent insider buying, including purchases by Director Wade Davis and CEO Christopher L. Winfrey.

Pzena Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR - Free Report) by 70.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 118,715 shares of the company's stock after selling 286,366 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.09% of Charter Communications worth $24,782,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in Charter Communications by 141.0% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 94 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its stake in Charter Communications by 535.0% during the second quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 127 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Charter Communications during the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Caitlin John LLC purchased a new stake in Charter Communications during the third quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, MUFG Securities EMEA plc purchased a new stake in Charter Communications during the second quarter valued at about $116,000. Institutional investors own 81.76% of the company's stock.

Charter Communications Stock Performance

Charter Communications stock opened at $148.90 on Friday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $198.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $206.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.56, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market cap of $18.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.02, a PEG ratio of 0.25 and a beta of 0.76. Charter Communications, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $136.63 and a fifty-two week high of $422.29.

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

Insider Transactions at Charter Communications

In other news, Director Wade Davis acquired 5,728 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $173.72 per share, with a total value of $995,068.16. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,925 shares in the company, valued at $1,203,011. The trade was a 478.53% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Christopher L. Winfrey acquired 3,468 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $172.23 per share, for a total transaction of $597,293.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 74,409 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,815,462.07. This represents a 4.89% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders acquired 20,125 shares of company stock valued at $3,167,116. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on CHTR shares. 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 report on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on Charter Communications from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Charter Communications from $210.00 to $185.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price target on Charter Communications from $160.00 to $150.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Charter Communications from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $290.38.

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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