Royal Bank Of Canada Has Lowered Expectations for Charter Communications (NASDAQ:CHTR) Stock Price

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada lowered Charter Communications’ price target from $160 to $150 while maintaining a “sector perform” rating, implying approximately 16.8% upside from the stock’s $128.42 price.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with five Buy, eight Hold and six Sell ratings; MarketBeat reports an overall “Reduce” rating and an average price target of $240.12.
• Charter’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with EPS of $10.66 versus a $9.98 estimate and revenue of $13.53 billion, although revenue declined 1.7% year over year. Insiders also purchased about $3.17 million of company shares during the latest quarter.

Charter Communications (NASDAQ:CHTR - Get Free Report) had its price target dropped by analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from $160.00 to $150.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "sector perform" rating on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada's price target indicates a potential upside of 16.80% from the company's current price.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on CHTR. New Street Research decreased their target price on Charter Communications from $328.00 to $302.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Charter Communications from $160.00 to $101.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Freedom Capital raised Charter Communications to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Charter Communications from $235.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Charter Communications in a research note on Monday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $240.12.

Charter Communications Trading Up 4.1%

Shares of CHTR stock traded up $5.11 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $128.42. 454,971 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,729,850. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.79 billion, a PE ratio of 3.33, a PEG ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 0.71. Charter Communications has a 1-year low of $111.55 and a 1-year high of $309.40. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $136.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $183.82.

Charter Communications (NASDAQ:CHTR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 24th. The company reported $10.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $9.98 by $0.68. Charter Communications had a net margin of 9.05% and a return on equity of 23.71%. The firm had revenue of $13.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $9.18 EPS. The company's revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Charter Communications will post 41.29 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Charter Communications

In other news, CEO Christopher L. Winfrey bought 3,468 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $172.23 per share, with a total value of $597,293.64. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 74,409 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,815,462.07. This trade represents a 4.89% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Mauricio Ramos purchased 9,929 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $140.93 per share, with a total value of $1,399,293.97. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 19,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,721,217.37. This represents a 105.85% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders bought 20,125 shares of company stock valued at $3,167,116 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Charter Communications

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dodge & Cox increased its stake in shares of Charter Communications by 23.7% during the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 14,609,220 shares of the company's stock worth $3,049,675,000 after purchasing an additional 2,801,671 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Charter Communications by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,248,287 shares of the company's stock worth $2,139,330,000 after purchasing an additional 885,935 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Charter Communications by 22.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,961,695 shares of the company's stock worth $2,190,302,000 after buying an additional 1,475,383 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in Charter Communications by 304.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 4,815,422 shares of the company's stock worth $1,005,222,000 after buying an additional 3,626,135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Charter Communications by 119.6% during the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 2,969,507 shares of the company's stock valued at $619,885,000 after buying an additional 1,617,148 shares in the last quarter. 81.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Charter Communications Company 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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