Uniti Group (NASDAQ:UNIT) Sets New 52-Week High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• New 52-week high: Uniti Group shares rose to $12.18 (last around $12.02), marking a new 52‑week high and pushing the market cap to about $2.85 billion.
• Mixed analyst view with low price target: Wall Street consensus is a "Hold" and the average price target is $8.92, well below the current share price despite some firms issuing buy ratings and target upgrades.
• Quarterly results mixed: Revenue topped estimates at $917.2M and jumped 212.8% year‑over‑year, but the company missed on EPS (‑$1.19 vs. ‑$0.46 est.) and analysts project a fiscal‑year EPS of about ‑1.66.

Uniti Group Inc. (NASDAQ:UNIT - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $12.18 and last traded at $12.0160, with a volume of 238771 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $11.83.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Zacks Research raised Uniti Group from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 3rd. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and set a $11.00 price target on shares of Uniti Group in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective 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. Wall Street Zen cut Uniti Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, March 1st. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Uniti Group from $8.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Uniti Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $8.92.

Uniti Group Stock Up 0.9%

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $8.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $7.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.33.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Uniti Group by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 12,202 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 1,352 shares during the last quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Uniti Group by 26.2% in the 1st quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,195 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 1,494 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Uniti Group by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 84,017 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $363,000 after acquiring an additional 1,629 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Uniti Group by 20.6% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 10,511 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,795 shares during the period. Finally, Xponance LLC boosted its position in shares of Uniti Group by 17.3% during the 4th quarter. Xponance LLC now owns 13,169 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $92,000 after purchasing an additional 1,944 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.51% of the company's stock.

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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