Charter Communications, Inc. $CHTR Shares Sold by Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb L.P.

Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb L.P. cut its stake in Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR) by 57.9% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 152,563 shares of the company’s stock after selling 209,437 shares during the quarter. Charter Communications makes up approximately 0.5% of Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb L.P.’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb L.P.’s holdings in Charter Communications were worth $32,935,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Advisory Services Network LLC boosted its stake in shares of Charter Communications by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 1,028 shares of the company’s stock worth $420,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC increased its stake in Charter Communications by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 2,417 shares of the company’s stock valued at $988,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP raised its holdings in Charter Communications by 1.4% during the second quarter. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP now owns 3,069 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,255,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Charter Communications by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,116 shares of the company’s stock worth $233,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its position in Charter Communications by 3.6% during the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,426 shares of the company’s stock worth $392,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. 81.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on CHTR. New Street Research lowered their target price on Charter Communications from $328.00 to $302.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Charter Communications in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Charter Communications in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. UBS Group dropped their target price on Charter Communications from $235.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Charter Communications from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Charter Communications has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $230.62.

Key Stories Impacting Charter Communications

Here are the key news stories impacting Charter Communications this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Charter reported quarterly EPS of $10.66, exceeding the $9.98 consensus estimate, while revenue of $13.53 billion was broadly in line with expectations. The earnings beat and robust cash generation may be supporting investor interest despite a 1.7% year-over-year revenue decline.
• Positive Sentiment: Charter unveiled a nearly $20 billion debt exchange and new bond plan. The initiative could help manage maturities and improve financial flexibility, an important consideration for a highly leveraged company. Charter Unveils Nearly $20 Billion Debt Exchange and New Bond Plan
• Positive Sentiment: A bullish investment view argues that CHTR is priced at a distressed valuation, with substantial free cash flow, mobile-subscriber growth, network modernization and share repurchases potentially supporting long-term returns and deleveraging. Charter Communications: Keep Adding On The Way Down
• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen maintained a “buy” rating while lowering its price target to $380 from $413, implying substantial potential upside based on the reference price. TD Cowen price-target report
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusual options activity included 8,909 put contracts, about 10% above typical volume. This signals increased hedging or bearish speculation but does not establish a clear direction for the stock.
• Neutral Sentiment: Charter’s ability to stabilize its broadband customer base remains a key near-term question as investors assess customer losses, pricing and competition from fiber providers. Can Charter Communications Steady Its Broadband Base?
• Negative Sentiment: Several firms reduced their targets: RBC cut its target to $150 and assigned “sector perform,” while Barclays lowered its target to $115 and Wells Fargo to $101, with both firms maintaining “underweight” ratings. The revisions reflect concerns about broadband attrition, fiber competition and leverage.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 owned 3,968 shares in the company, valued at approximately $583,057.92. This trade represents a 82.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Mauricio Ramos bought 9,929 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were bought 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,721,217.37. This trade represents a 105.85% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Charter Communications Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CHTR opened at $131.61 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $135.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $183.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.32. Charter Communications, Inc. has a twelve month low of $111.55 and a twelve month high of $309.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.42, a PEG ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 0.71.

Charter Communications (NASDAQ:CHTR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The company reported $10.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.98 by $0.68. Charter Communications had a return on equity of 23.71% and a net margin of 9.05%.The firm had revenue of $13.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $9.18 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Charter Communications, Inc. will post 41.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.