Uniti Group (NASDAQ:UNIT) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Uniti Group Inc. (NASDAQ:UNIT) shares gapped up prior to trading on Monday. The stock had previously closed at $5.07, but opened at $5.25. Uniti Group shares last traded at $4.9350, with a volume of 69,148 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Uniti Group from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Uniti Group from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 31st. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Uniti Group from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Uniti Group from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $16.00 price target on shares of Uniti Group and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $11.47.

Uniti Group Price Performance

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $8.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $10.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.22 billion, a PE ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.42.

Uniti Group (NASDAQ:UNIT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.68) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.45) by ($0.23). Uniti Group had a negative return on equity of 133.07% and a net margin of 28.68%. The business had revenue of $909.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $884.82 million. Equities analysts forecast that Uniti Group Inc. will post -2.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Uniti Group

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Uniti Group during the second quarter worth about $15,701,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Uniti Group by 2.0% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 870,891 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $8,169,000 after buying an additional 16,971 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. increased its holdings in Uniti Group by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 712,211 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,968,000 after acquiring an additional 28,411 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC increased its stake in shares of Uniti Group by 26.9% during the 1st quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 505,246 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,739,000 after purchasing an additional 107,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP purchased a new position in Uniti Group during the first quarter worth $4,203,000. 87.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Uniti Group Company Profile

Uniti Group Inc is a communications infrastructure company that owns, operates and acquires critical network assets used by telecommunications providers and other customers. Its portfolio primarily includes fiber-optic networks, wireless towers, small-cell infrastructure and related real estate. Uniti generally leases this infrastructure to communications companies under long-term agreements.

The company’s fiber network supports services such as broadband, data transmission, wireless backhaul and enterprise connectivity.