Shenandoah Telecommunications (NASDAQ:SHEN) Upgraded to "Hold" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Shenandoah Telecommunications has received an upgrade from Wall Street Zen, moving from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating, indicating improved sentiment among analysts.
• BWS Financial has reiterated a "buy" rating on the stock with a target price of $26.00, reflecting confidence in the company's growth potential.
• Insider activity showed major shareholders acquiring significant shares recently, which may signal confidence in the company's future performance.

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Shenandoah Telecommunications (NASDAQ:SHEN - Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Saturday.

Separately, BWS Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of Shenandoah Telecommunications in a report on Thursday, May 1st.

Shenandoah Telecommunications Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of SHEN stock traded down $0.12 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $13.17. The company had a trading volume of 54,431 shares, compared to its average volume of 283,212. The company's fifty day moving average is $14.10 and its 200 day moving average is $12.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.73. Shenandoah Telecommunications has a fifty-two week low of $9.77 and a fifty-two week high of $17.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $722.23 million, a PE ratio of -23.51 and a beta of 0.90.

Shenandoah Telecommunications (NASDAQ:SHEN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported ($0.19) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.20) by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $88.57 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.94 million. Shenandoah Telecommunications had a negative net margin of 8.90% and a negative return on equity of 3.78%. Research analysts expect that Shenandoah Telecommunications will post -0.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Ecp Controlco, Llc acquired 17,303 shares of Shenandoah Telecommunications stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $14.88 per share, for a total transaction of $257,468.64. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 3,041,694 shares of the company's stock, valued at $45,260,406.72. This trade represents a 0.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Ecp Fiber Holdings Gp, Llc acquired 30,000 shares of Shenandoah Telecommunications stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $13.48 per share, for a total transaction of $404,400.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 3,094,541 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,714,412.68. This represents a 0.98% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have acquired 624,307 shares of company stock worth $8,719,008. 4.51% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Shenandoah Telecommunications

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Shenandoah Telecommunications by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 27,716 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $349,000 after purchasing an additional 1,061 shares in the last quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC raised its stake in Shenandoah Telecommunications by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC now owns 22,076 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $278,000 after acquiring an additional 1,147 shares in the last quarter. PAX Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Shenandoah Telecommunications by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. PAX Financial Group LLC now owns 37,118 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $468,000 after acquiring an additional 1,353 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in Shenandoah Telecommunications by 11.2% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 13,735 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $173,000 after acquiring an additional 1,380 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Shenandoah Telecommunications by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 42,600 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $535,000 after acquiring an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. 61.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Shenandoah Telecommunications Company Profile

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.