Arete Research Upgrades Charter Communications (NASDAQ:CHTR) to Strong Sell

Charter Communications (NASDAQ:CHTR) was upgraded by Arete Research to a “strong sell” rating in a report released on Thursday, Zacks reports.

CHTR has been the topic of several other research reports. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Charter Communications from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Wolfe Research reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $118.00 price target on shares of Charter Communications in a research report on Monday, September 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Charter Communications from $120.00 to $110.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Charter Communications from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Charter Communications from $200.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and seven have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $215.17.

Charter Communications Trading Up 0.4%

CHTR opened at $111.37 on Thursday. Charter Communications has a fifty-two week low of $108.65 and a fifty-two week high of $284.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.28 billion, a PE ratio of 2.89, a P/E/G ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 0.70. 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 company’s 50-day moving average is $141.11 and its 200 day moving average is $157.84.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Charter Communications

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CHTR. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Charter Communications in the first quarter worth $25,000. Trust Co. of Vermont bought a new position in shares of Charter Communications during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Charter Communications by 106.5% during the 2nd quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 223 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. Raiffeisen Bank International AG increased its holdings in Charter Communications by 259.7% in the 2nd quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 223 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Charter Communications by 1,600.0% in the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 187 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. 81.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Charter Communications

Charter Communications, Inc is a telecommunications and media company that provides broadband connectivity and related communications services in the United States. Its consumer-facing operations are marketed primarily under the Spectrum brand and include high-speed internet, video entertainment, mobile wireless service and voice communications.

Charter also serves businesses and public-sector organizations with internet access, data networking, telephone, video and managed communications solutions.