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 Communications from $220 to $160, while keeping a sector perform rating. The new target still implies upside from the previous close, but it reflects a more cautious outlook.
• Recent analyst sentiment on Charter has turned mixed to negative, with Wells Fargo lowering its target to $160 and several firms issuing hold or sell-equivalent views. MarketBeat says the stock’s consensus rating is now “Reduce”.
• Charter’s fundamentals and stock performance remain under pressure: shares were trading near $130.10, close to the 52-week low, and the company recently missed EPS estimates in its latest quarterly report. The stock also carries notable leverage, with a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.56.

Charter Communications (NASDAQ:CHTR - Get Free Report) had its price target dropped by equities research analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from $220.00 to $160.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "sector perform" rating on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada's target price indicates a potential upside of 22.98% from the company's previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on CHTR. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Charter Communications from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a "market perform" rating and set a $210.00 price objective on shares of Charter Communications in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Charter Communications to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Charter Communications from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of Charter Communications from $235.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 27th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $249.12.

Charter Communications Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CHTR traded down $1.26 during trading on Monday, reaching $130.10. 601,232 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,667,719. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.56. Charter Communications has a fifty-two week low of $124.05 and a fifty-two week high of $402.15. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $137.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $186.71. The firm has a market cap of $16.00 billion, a PE ratio of 3.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.24 and a beta of 0.71.

Charter Communications (NASDAQ:CHTR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 analysts' expectations of $13.56 billion. Charter Communications had a return on equity of 24.20% and a net margin of 9.03%.The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $8.42 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Charter Communications will post 41.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Charter Communications news, Director Thomas Rutledge sold 69,633 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.45, for a total transaction of $10,058,486.85. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,968 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $573,177.60. The trade was a 94.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Balan Nair bought 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was bought at an average price of $175.46 per share, with a total value of $175,460.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 12,029 shares in the company, valued at $2,110,608.34. This represents a 9.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have bought a total of 20,125 shares of company stock valued at $3,167,116 in the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Charter Communications

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dodge & Cox grew its stake in shares of Charter Communications by 23.7% in the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 14,609,220 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,049,675,000 after buying an additional 2,801,671 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted 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 valued at $2,139,330,000 after acquiring an additional 885,935 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Charter Communications by 22.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,961,695 shares of the company's stock worth $2,190,302,000 after acquiring an additional 1,475,383 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 3,626,135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its stake 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 worth $619,885,000 after acquiring an additional 1,617,148 shares during the last quarter. 81.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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