The Goldman Sachs Group Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Charter Communications (NASDAQ:CHTR) Stock Price

Charter Communications (NASDAQ:CHTR) had its target price dropped by equities research analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $185.00 to $125.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “sell” rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s target price indicates a potential downside of 8.58% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Charter Communications from $235.00 to $215.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Freedom Capital upgraded Charter Communications to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Charter Communications from $250.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Charter Communications in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Benchmark decreased their price target on shares of Charter Communications from $455.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $262.56.

Charter Communications Price Performance

NASDAQ CHTR traded down $3.11 on Thursday, hitting $136.73. The company had a trading volume of 297,436 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,708,154. The company has a market capitalization of $16.82 billion, a PE ratio of 3.69, a PEG ratio of 0.24 and a beta of 0.71. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $149.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $192.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.56, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.40. Charter Communications has a 12-month low of $124.05 and a 12-month high of $422.29.

Charter Communications (NASDAQ:CHTR) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The company reported $9.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $10.01 by ($0.84). The company had revenue of $13.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.56 billion. Charter Communications had a net margin of 9.03% and a return on equity of 24.20%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $8.42 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Charter Communications will post 43 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Wade Davis acquired 5,728 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $173.72 per share, for a total transaction of $995,068.16. Following the acquisition, the director owned 6,925 shares in the company, valued at $1,203,011. The trade was a 478.53% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher L. Winfrey acquired 3,468 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $172.23 per share, with a total value of $597,293.64. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 74,409 shares in the company, valued at $12,815,462.07. This trade represents a 4.89% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have acquired a total of 20,125 shares of company stock valued at $3,167,116 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CHTR. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in Charter Communications by 304.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 4,815,422 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,005,222,000 after acquiring an additional 3,626,135 shares in the last quarter. Dodge & Cox boosted its stake in shares of Charter Communications by 23.7% in the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 14,609,220 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,049,675,000 after purchasing an additional 2,801,671 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Charter Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $555,383,000. Voyager Global Management LP increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 1,725,000 shares during the period. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in 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 buying 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.