Uniti Group (NASDAQ:UNIT) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Royal Bank Of Canada Analyst Says

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada raised its price target on Uniti Group from $6.50 to $7.50 and maintained a "sector perform" rating, though that target implies roughly a 31.0% downside from the stock's recent price (~$10.87).
• Analysts' consensus remains an average "Hold" rating with an average price target of $8.42 after mixed updates from Citigroup, Barclays, Wells Fargo, Zacks and Wall Street Zen.
• Uniti reported quarterly EPS of ($1.19), missing estimates by $0.73, while revenue of $917.2M topped forecasts and climbed 212.8% year‑over‑year.

Uniti Group (NASDAQ:UNIT - Get Free Report) had its target price raised by equities researchers at Royal Bank Of Canada from $6.50 to $7.50 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "sector perform" rating on the real estate investment trust's stock. Royal Bank Of Canada's target price suggests a potential downside of 31.00% from the stock's current price.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Uniti Group from $8.80 to $9.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Barclays set a $8.00 price objective on Uniti Group in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Zacks Research upgraded Uniti Group from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 3rd. Wall Street Zen lowered Uniti Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday, March 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Uniti Group from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Uniti Group has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $8.42.

Uniti Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:UNIT traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $10.87. 171,141 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,204,692. Uniti Group has a twelve month low of $5.30 and a twelve month high of $11.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $8.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $7.24.

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

Institutional Trading of Uniti Group

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Uniti Group in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Uniti Group by 20.6% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 10,511 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 1,795 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV acquired a new stake in shares of Uniti Group in the fourth quarter valued at $72,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Uniti Group in the third quarter valued at $75,000. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Uniti Group in the fourth quarter valued at $78,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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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