Charter Communications (NASDAQ:CHTR) Trading Down 4.2% – Should You Sell?

Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR)’s share price fell 4.2% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $151.06 and last traded at $151.0040. 65,857 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 98% from the average daily volume of 2,733,582 shares. The stock had previously closed at $157.69.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating on shares of Charter Communications in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of Charter Communications from $160.00 to $150.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Charter Communications from $160.00 to $101.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of Charter Communications in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Charter Communications from $130.00 to $115.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 27th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Charter Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $226.88.

Charter Communications Price Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $136.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $179.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.32, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market cap of $17.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.25 and a beta of 0.70.

Charter Communications (NASDAQ:CHTR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 24th. The company reported $10.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.98 by $0.68. Charter Communications had a net margin of 9.05% and a return on equity of 23.71%. The firm had revenue of $13.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $9.18 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Charter Communications, Inc. will post 42.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Charter Communications

In other Charter Communications news, Director Mauricio Ramos purchased 9,929 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $140.93 per share, for a total transaction of $1,399,293.97. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 19,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,721,217.37. This represents a 105.85% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Thomas Rutledge sold 18,200 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,968 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $583,057.92. This represents a 82.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Charter Communications

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in Charter Communications by 304.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 4,815,422 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,005,222,000 after purchasing an additional 3,626,135 shares during the last quarter. Dodge & Cox increased its position in Charter Communications by 23.7% in the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 14,609,220 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,049,675,000 after purchasing an additional 2,801,671 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Charter Communications in the 4th quarter worth about $555,383,000. Voyager Global Management LP raised its stake in shares of Charter Communications by 1,380.0% during the 4th quarter. Voyager Global Management LP now owns 1,850,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $386,188,000 after purchasing an additional 1,725,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Charter Communications by 119.6% during the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 2,969,507 shares of the company’s stock worth $619,885,000 after purchasing an additional 1,617,148 shares in the last quarter. 81.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.