Shenandoah Telecommunications (NASDAQ:SHEN) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Shenandoah Telecommunications Co (NASDAQ:SHEN)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $11.11, but opened at $11.69. Shenandoah Telecommunications shares last traded at $11.6510, with a volume of 7,527 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Craig Hallum started coverage on shares of Shenandoah Telecommunications in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $29.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Shenandoah Telecommunications from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. BWS Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of Shenandoah Telecommunications in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Shenandoah Telecommunications from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.50.

Shenandoah Telecommunications Stock Up 1.0%

The firm has a market capitalization of $643.92 million, a P/E ratio of -14.54 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $14.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Shenandoah Telecommunications (NASDAQ:SHEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported ($0.31) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $92.15 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $91.34 million. Shenandoah Telecommunications had a negative net margin of 11.35% and a negative return on equity of 4.64%. On average, equities analysts expect that Shenandoah Telecommunications Co will post -1.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Shenandoah Telecommunications

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SHEN. ECP ControlCo LLC raised its holdings in Shenandoah Telecommunications by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. ECP ControlCo LLC now owns 3,457,105 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,964,000 after buying an additional 79,872 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Shenandoah Telecommunications by 1.5% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,639,113 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,416,000 after buying an additional 39,653 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Shenandoah Telecommunications by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,927,155 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $22,278,000 after buying an additional 31,375 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of Shenandoah Telecommunications by 1,116.6% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,087,246 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $12,569,000 after acquiring an additional 997,882 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cooper Investors PTY Ltd. increased its position in shares of Shenandoah Telecommunications by 81.0% during the fourth quarter. Cooper Investors PTY Ltd. now owns 950,951 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,993,000 after acquiring an additional 425,582 shares in the last quarter. 61.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Shenandoah Telecommunications

Shenandoah Telecommunications Company operates as a diversified communications provider offering both wireless and wireline services across rural markets in the Mid-Atlantic region. Headquartered in Edinburg, Virginia, the company designs, builds and maintains network infrastructure to deliver mobile connectivity, high-speed broadband access and related telecommunications solutions to residential, business and wholesale customers.

In its wireless segment, the company owns and operates a portfolio of cellular towers and associated spectrum under a long-term partnership with a national carrier.