Charter Communications (NASDAQ:CHTR) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR) gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $133.64, but opened at $168.11. Charter Communications shares last traded at $153.1730, with a volume of 4,581,809 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Benchmark reduced their price target on Charter Communications from $455.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of Charter Communications from $235.00 to $215.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Charter Communications in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Charter Communications from $230.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Charter Communications to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $276.00.

Charter Communications Stock Up 11.6%

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $155.75 and a 200 day moving average of $194.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.56, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.04, a PEG ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 0.72.

Charter Communications (NASDAQ:CHTR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The company reported $9.17 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $13.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.56 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $8.42 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Charter Communications, Inc. will post 43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Mauricio Ramos purchased 9,929 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $140.93 per share, for a total transaction of $1,399,293.97. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 19,309 shares in the company, valued at $2,721,217.37. The trade was a 105.85% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas Rutledge sold 69,633 shares of Charter Communications stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.45, for a total transaction of $10,058,486.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,968 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $573,177.60. This trade represents a 94.61% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders purchased 20,125 shares of company stock valued at $3,167,116 in the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Charter Communications

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Charter Communications during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Quarry LP raised its stake in Charter Communications by 153.2% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 119 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Charter Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. DV Equities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Charter Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Charter Communications by 141.0% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 94 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. 81.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Charter Communications

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.