Shenandoah Telecommunications (NASDAQ:SHEN) Stock Price Down 13.2% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Shenandoah Telecommunications (NASDAQ:SHEN) saw a significant 13.2% drop in its share price during mid-day trading, falling to $12.75 from a previous close of $14.68.
• Research analysts have given mixed reviews on the stock, with one upgrading the rating to a "sell" while another maintained a "buy" rating with a target price of $26.00.
• Institutional investors control around 61.96% of the company's stock, with significant holdings recently modified by firms like American Century Companies Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Shenandoah Telecommunications Co (NASDAQ:SHEN - Get Free Report)'s share price was down 13.2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $12.54 and last traded at $12.75. Approximately 91,258 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 67% from the average daily volume of 279,361 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.68.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on SHEN shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Shenandoah Telecommunications to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. BWS Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of Shenandoah Telecommunications in a research report on Thursday, May 1st.

Shenandoah Telecommunications Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $745.55 million, a P/E ratio of -22.28 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $14.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $12.64.

Shenandoah Telecommunications (NASDAQ:SHEN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported ($0.19) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.20) by $0.01. Shenandoah Telecommunications had a negative return on equity of 3.18% and a negative net margin of 10.07%. The company had revenue of $88.57 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $89.94 million. Equities analysts forecast that Shenandoah Telecommunications Co will post -0.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Shenandoah Telecommunications news, major shareholder Ecp Fiber Holdings Gp, Llc purchased 32,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $12.46 per share, for a total transaction of $398,720.00. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 2,532,697 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $31,557,404.62. This represents a 1.28% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Ecp Controlco, Llc purchased 36,238 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $12.58 per share, for a total transaction of $455,874.04. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 2,599,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,698,866.92. This represents a 1.41% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired a total of 571,460 shares of company stock worth $7,977,843 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 4.51% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Shenandoah Telecommunications

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SHEN. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Shenandoah Telecommunications by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 433,218 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $5,463,000 after buying an additional 48,233 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of Shenandoah Telecommunications in the 4th quarter worth $101,000. LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Shenandoah Telecommunications by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 38,461 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $485,000 after purchasing an additional 2,143 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Shenandoah Telecommunications by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,529,847 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $69,731,000 after purchasing an additional 68,133 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Shenandoah Telecommunications by 42.5% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 219,276 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,765,000 after purchasing an additional 65,426 shares in the last quarter. 61.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Shenandoah Telecommunications

Shenandoah Telecommunications Company, together with its subsidiaries, provides a range of broadband communication services and cell tower colocation space in the Mid-Atlantic portion of the United States. It operates in two segments, Broadband and Tower. The company Broadband segment offers broadband, video, and voice services to residential and commercial customers in Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Kentucky through hybrid fiber coaxial cable under the Shentel brand; and fiber optic services under the Glo Fiber brand name.

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