Uniti Group (NASDAQ:UNIT) Sets New 1-Year High - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Uniti Group (NASDAQ:UNIT) hit a new 52-week high of $11.74, trading last around $11.63 with a market cap of about $2.78 billion and a low P/E of 3.08 (50-day/200-day moving averages: $8.64/$7.36).
• Analyst sentiment is mixed — MarketBeat shows an average rating of Hold with an $8.92 average target, while individual firms range from "strong-buy" to "sell" and several recently adjusted price targets.
• The company significantly missed EPS for the quarter (‑$1.19 vs. ‑$0.46 est.) but beat revenue ($917.2M, up 212.8% YoY), and institutional investors own roughly 87.5% of the stock.

Uniti Group Inc. (NASDAQ:UNIT - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $11.74 and last traded at $11.63, with a volume of 2450009 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $11.06.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNIT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $11.00 price objective on shares of Uniti Group in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Uniti Group from $6.50 to $7.50 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday. Wall Street Zen lowered Uniti Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, March 1st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Uniti Group in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Uniti Group from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Uniti Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $8.92.

Uniti Group Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $2.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.33. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $8.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $7.36.

Uniti Group (NASDAQ:UNIT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, March 2nd. The real estate investment trust reported ($1.19) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.46) by ($0.73). The company had revenue of $917.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $909.44 million. Uniti Group had a negative return on equity of 2.52% and a net margin of 55.60%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 212.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.35 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Uniti Group Inc. will post 1.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Uniti Group

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Uniti Group during the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV acquired a new stake in shares of Uniti Group during the 4th quarter worth $72,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Uniti Group by 20.6% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 10,511 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,795 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Uniti Group during the 4th quarter worth $78,000. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Uniti Group during the 4th quarter worth $81,000. 87.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Uniti Group Company Profile

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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