Weiss Ratings Reiterates Hold (C-) Rating for Charter Communications (NASDAQ:CHTR)

Key Points

• Weiss Ratings has reaffirmed a "Hold (C-)" rating for Charter Communications, indicating a cautious outlook on the stock despite other brokerages offering varying ratings.
• Charter's stock price has been adjusted by various brokerages, with KeyCorp lowering its target from $500 to $430, and UBS Group from $425 to $355, reflecting market volatility.
• Recent insider trading showed significant purchases by Executive Director Balan Nair and CEO Christopher L. Winfrey, demonstrating confidence in the company's future despite current market challenges.

Charter Communications (NASDAQ:CHTR - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "hold (c-)" rating reaffirmed by equities research analysts at Weiss Ratings in a research report issued on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on CHTR. KeyCorp dropped their price target on Charter Communications from $500.00 to $430.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on Charter Communications from $380.00 to $350.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Charter Communications from $425.00 to $355.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 28th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Charter Communications in a report on Thursday, August 21st. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $300.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Charter Communications from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $373.71.

Charter Communications Price Performance

NASDAQ CHTR traded down $2.11 on Wednesday, reaching $274.37. 1,445,876 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,039,210. Charter Communications has a 12 month low of $251.80 and a 12 month high of $437.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.57, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.33. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $266.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $341.01. The stock has a market cap of $37.48 billion, a PE ratio of 7.51, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.05.

Charter Communications (NASDAQ:CHTR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The company reported $9.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $10.06 by ($0.88). Charter Communications had a return on equity of 26.77% and a net margin of 9.53%.The firm had revenue of $13.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.76 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $8.49 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Charter Communications will post 38.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Charter Communications

In other Charter Communications news, Director Balan Nair acquired 360 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were bought at an average price of $274.21 per share, with a total value of $98,715.60. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 9,622 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,638,448.62. The trade was a 3.89% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Christopher L. Winfrey acquired 3,670 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were bought at an average price of $273.10 per share, with a total value of $1,002,277.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 70,243 shares in the company, valued at $19,183,363.30. The trade was a 5.51% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.83% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CHTR. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Charter Communications in the first quarter valued at about $47,000. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Charter Communications during the first quarter worth about $205,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Charter Communications by 9.4% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,144 shares of the company's stock worth $422,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Charter Communications by 61.7% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 498 shares of the company's stock worth $185,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Charter Communications by 17.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,328 shares of the company's stock worth $858,000 after acquiring an additional 351 shares during the period. 81.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Charter Communications

Charter Communications, Inc operates as a broadband connectivity and cable operator company serving residential and commercial customers in the United States. The company offers subscription-based internet, video, and mobile and voice services; a suite of broadband connectivity services, including fixed internet, WiFi, and mobile; Advanced WiFi services; Spectrum Security Shield; in-home WiFi, which provides customers with high performance wireless routers and managed WiFi services to enhance their fixed wireless internet experience; out-of-home WiFi; and Spectrum WiFi services.

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