Royal Bank Of Canada Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Charter Communications (NASDAQ:CHTR) Stock Price

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada cut its price target on Charter from $250 to $220 and kept a "sector perform" rating, with the new target implying roughly a 23% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed — 6 Buy, 10 Hold and 6 Sell — with an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $327.89, while multiple firms (New Street, Deutsche Bank, Sanford Bernstein) have recently trimmed targets.
• Charter traded near $178.80 and recently posted an EPS miss ($9.17 vs. $10.01 expected) with revenue roughly in line; the company shows high leverage (debt-to-equity 4.56) and a low P/E of about 4.8.

Charter Communications (NASDAQ:CHTR - Get Free Report) had its price target decreased by research analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from $250.00 to $220.00 in a research report issued on Monday,MarketScreener reports. The firm currently has a "sector perform" rating on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada's target price indicates a potential upside of 23.04% from the stock's previous close.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on CHTR. New Street Research decreased their price target on shares of Charter Communications from $479.00 to $328.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Williams Trading set a $437.00 price target on shares of Charter Communications in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Zacks Research raised shares of Charter Communications from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on Charter Communications from $275.00 to $235.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on Charter Communications from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $327.89.

Charter Communications Stock Performance

CHTR stock traded down $1.33 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $178.80. 469,164 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,059,734. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $224.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $218.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.56, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.40. Charter Communications has a 52 week low of $177.32 and a 52 week high of $437.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.64 billion, a PE ratio of 4.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.03.

Charter Communications (NASDAQ:CHTR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The company reported $9.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $10.01 by ($0.84). The business 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 company's revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $8.42 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Charter Communications will post 43.39 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Optimize Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of Charter Communications in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,557,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Charter Communications by 245.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 14,717 shares of the company's stock worth $4,069,000 after acquiring an additional 10,455 shares in the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd bought a new position in shares of Charter Communications in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,651,000. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Charter Communications in the 3rd quarter worth about $5,260,000. Finally, CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Charter Communications by 764.5% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 23,195 shares of the company's stock worth $6,381,000 after acquiring an additional 20,512 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.76% of the company's stock.

About Charter Communications

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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