Charter Communications (NASDAQ:CHTR) Hits New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

Shares of Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $123.16 and last traded at $126.5060, with a volume of 5296271 shares. The stock had previously closed at $129.22.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Charter Communications from $185.00 to $125.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their price objective on shares of Charter Communications from $150.00 to $120.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $210.00 target price on shares of Charter Communications in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Charter Communications from $220.00 to $160.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, Zacks Research cut Charter Communications from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $249.12.

Charter Communications Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $136.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $185.02. The company has a market cap of $15.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.42, a P/E/G ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.56.

Charter Communications (NASDAQ:CHTR) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The company reported $9.17 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $10.01 by ($0.84). Charter Communications had a return on equity of 24.20% and a net margin of 9.03%.The business had revenue of $13.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $8.42 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Charter Communications, Inc. will post 41.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Christopher L. Winfrey bought 3,468 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $172.23 per share, with a total value of $597,293.64. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 74,409 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,815,462.07. This trade represents a 4.89% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas Rutledge sold 18,200 shares of Charter Communications stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.94, for a total value of $2,674,308.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,968 shares in the company, valued at $583,057.92. The trade was a 82.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders acquired a total of 20,125 shares of company stock valued at $3,167,116 over the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Charter Communications

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Charter Communications during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of Charter Communications by 153.2% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 119 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in Charter Communications during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in Charter Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Charter Communications by 141.0% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 94 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. 81.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Charter Communications Company Profile

Charter Communications, Inc is a U.S.-based telecommunications and mass media company that provides broadband communications and video services to residential and business customers. Operating primarily under the Spectrum brand, the company offers high-speed internet, cable television, digital voice (phone) and wireless services, as well as managed and enterprise networking solutions for commercial customers. Charter’s service portfolio targets both consumer and business markets with bundled and standalone offerings designed to meet streaming, connectivity and communications needs.

The company’s consumer-facing products include Spectrum Internet, Spectrum TV and Spectrum Voice, while Spectrum Mobile provides wireless service through arrangements with national wireless carriers.