Shenandoah Telecommunications (NASDAQ:SHEN) Sets New 12-Month High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Shenandoah Telecommunications hit a new 52-week high of $16.22 (last trade $15.7050) on Thursday with about 118,000 shares changing hands.
• Analyst coverage is mixed: the consensus is a Hold with an average price target of $27.50, while two firms rate it Buy (including Craig Hallum's $29 target) and one rates it Sell.
• The company slightly beat quarterly estimates (EPS -$0.10 vs. -$0.20 and revenue $91.6M vs. $90.0M) but remains unprofitable with negative net margin and ROE; its 50-day SMA ($14.23) sits above the 200-day SMA ($12.63), signaling a recent uptrend.

Shenandoah Telecommunications Co (NASDAQ:SHEN - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $16.22 and last traded at $15.7050, with a volume of 117962 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $15.52.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Shenandoah Telecommunications from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Shenandoah Telecommunications in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Craig Hallum initiated coverage on shares of Shenandoah Telecommunications in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. They set a "buy" rating and a $29.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BWS Financial restated a "buy" rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of Shenandoah Telecommunications in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Shenandoah Telecommunications presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $27.50.

Shenandoah Telecommunications Price Performance

The business's 50-day simple moving average is $14.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.63. The company has a market capitalization of $869.07 million, a P/E ratio of -23.11 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Shenandoah Telecommunications (NASDAQ:SHEN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported ($0.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.20) by $0.10. The company had revenue of $91.59 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $90.03 million. Shenandoah Telecommunications had a negative net margin of 10.04% and a negative return on equity of 4.01%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Shenandoah Telecommunications Co will post -0.49 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Shenandoah Telecommunications

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SHEN. Jane Street Group LLC increased its position in shares of Shenandoah Telecommunications by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 70,738 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $818,000 after acquiring an additional 948 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in shares of Shenandoah Telecommunications by 5.5% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 18,768 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $256,000 after acquiring an additional 986 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of Shenandoah Telecommunications by 4.5% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 28,964 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $364,000 after acquiring an additional 1,248 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in shares of Shenandoah Telecommunications by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 12,688 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $147,000 after acquiring an additional 1,511 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its position in shares of Shenandoah Telecommunications by 8.0% in the third quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 24,110 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $324,000 after acquiring an additional 1,782 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.96% of the company's stock.

About Shenandoah Telecommunications

Shenandoah Telecommunications Company operates as a diversified communications provider offering both wireless and wireline services across rural markets in the Mid-Atlantic region. Headquartered in Edinburg, Virginia, the company designs, builds and maintains network infrastructure to deliver mobile connectivity, high-speed broadband access and related telecommunications solutions to residential, business and wholesale customers.

In its wireless segment, the company owns and operates a portfolio of cellular towers and associated spectrum under a long-term partnership with a national carrier.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.