Uniti Group (NASDAQ:UNIT) Stock Falls 5.9% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Uniti Group shares fell 5.9% to about $6.97 in Friday trading, below both its 50-day moving average of $9.48 and 200-day moving average of $10.44.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but generally cautious: the consensus rating is “Hold” with an average price target of $11.47, though Raymond James assigned a $16 strong-buy target.
• The company’s latest quarterly results missed EPS expectations, reporting a loss of $0.68 per share versus the expected loss of $0.45, despite revenue of $909.7 million exceeding estimates.

Uniti Group Inc. (NASDAQ:UNIT - Get Free Report)'s share price traded down 5.9% on Friday. The stock traded as low as $7.01 and last traded at $6.9660. Approximately 1,659,832 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 29% from the average session volume of 2,340,901 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.40.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Uniti Group from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Uniti Group in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Raymond James Financial set a $16.00 target price on shares of Uniti Group and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. Barclays raised their price target on Uniti Group from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price target on Uniti Group from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $11.47.

Uniti Group Trading Down 5.7%

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $9.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $10.44. The company has a market capitalization of $1.69 billion, a PE ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.42.

Uniti Group (NASDAQ:UNIT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.68) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.45) by ($0.23). The firm had revenue of $909.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $884.82 million. Uniti Group had a negative return on equity of 133.07% and a net margin of 28.68%. On average, equities analysts expect that Uniti Group Inc. will post -2.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Uniti Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $15,701,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Uniti Group by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 870,891 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $8,169,000 after purchasing an additional 16,971 shares during the period. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC raised its stake in Uniti Group by 26.9% during the first quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 505,246 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $4,739,000 after purchasing an additional 107,000 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of Uniti Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $4,203,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in Uniti Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,781,000. Institutional investors own 87.51% of the company's stock.

About Uniti Group

Uniti Group Inc is a communications infrastructure company that owns, operates and leases fiber-optic networks, wireless infrastructure and other telecommunications real estate. Its assets support broadband providers, wireless carriers, enterprises, government organizations and other communications customers.

The company's services and infrastructure include dark-fiber leasing, lit fiber transport, network backhaul, fiber-to-the-tower connections, small-cell infrastructure, wireless towers and related colocation or real estate arrangements.

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