Uniti Group Inc. (NASDAQ:UNIT) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Uniti Group has an average analyst rating of Hold from eight firms (seven holds, one strong buy) with an average 12‑month target price of $8.92.
• The company posted a Q1 EPS miss of ($1.19) versus ($0.46) expected, even as revenue surged 212.8% year‑over‑year; analysts forecast a full‑year EPS of about -1.66.
• Shares traded near $11.98 (50‑day MA $9.08, 200‑day MA $7.60), market cap ~$2.91B and a PE of ~3.2, and roughly 87.5% of the stock is held by institutional investors.

Uniti Group Inc. (NASDAQ:UNIT - Get Free Report) has been given an average rating of "Hold" by the eight research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $8.9167.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Uniti Group from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Zacks Research raised shares of Uniti Group from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 3rd. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Uniti Group from $8.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Uniti Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday, March 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Uniti Group from $6.50 to $7.50 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th.

Uniti Group Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of UNIT opened at $11.98 on Friday. The firm's fifty day moving average is $9.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $7.60. The stock has a market cap of $2.91 billion, a PE ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 1.33. Uniti Group has a 52-week low of $5.30 and a 52-week high of $12.18.

Uniti Group (NASDAQ:UNIT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 2nd. The real estate investment trust reported ($1.19) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.46) by ($0.73). The firm had revenue of $917.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $909.44 million. Uniti Group had a net margin of 55.60% and a negative return on equity of 2.52%. The company's revenue was up 212.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.35 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Uniti Group will post -1.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Uniti Group

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Contrarian Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Uniti Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,783,000. Thematics Asset Management purchased a new stake in Uniti Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $3,900,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in Uniti Group by 2,208.3% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 995,163 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $6,976,000 after buying an additional 952,050 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in Uniti Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,532,000. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund acquired a new position in shares of Uniti Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $436,000. 87.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Uniti Group

Uniti Group Inc is a real estate investment trust that owns, operates and acquires communications infrastructure assets across the United States. Established in September 2015 through a spin-off from Windstream Holdings, Uniti Group focuses on leasing fiber, small cell networks, cell towers and related infrastructure to service providers, wireless carriers and other enterprises requiring high-capacity connectivity. The company's assets are designed to support the growing data demands of residential, business and governmental customers, with an emphasis on long-term contractual lease arrangements.

Uniti's portfolio encompasses an extensive fiber network that spans metropolitan and rural markets, as well as a portfolio of wireless towers and small cell nodes that facilitate mobile network densification and help carriers deploy 5G services.

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