Shenandoah Telecommunications (NASDAQ:SHEN) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Shenandoah Telecommunications Co (NASDAQ:SHEN) shares gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $14.62, but opened at $15.08. Shenandoah Telecommunications shares last traded at $15.0750, with a volume of 8,260 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on SHEN shares. BWS Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of Shenandoah Telecommunications in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Craig Hallum started coverage on shares of Shenandoah Telecommunications in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $29.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Shenandoah Telecommunications from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Shenandoah Telecommunications from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Shenandoah Telecommunications currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.50.

Shenandoah Telecommunications Stock Up 3.1%

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $15.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $13.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $857.02 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.45 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Shenandoah Telecommunications (NASDAQ:SHEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported ($0.31) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.24) by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $92.15 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $91.34 million. Shenandoah Telecommunications had a negative return on equity of 4.64% and a negative net margin of 11.35%. On average, equities analysts expect that Shenandoah Telecommunications Co will post -1.08 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Shenandoah Telecommunications

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. ECP ControlCo LLC raised its stake in Shenandoah Telecommunications by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. ECP ControlCo LLC now owns 3,457,105 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,964,000 after acquiring an additional 79,872 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Shenandoah Telecommunications by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,639,113 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,416,000 after acquiring an additional 39,653 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Shenandoah Telecommunications by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,927,155 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $22,278,000 after purchasing an additional 31,375 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Shenandoah Telecommunications by 1,116.6% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,087,246 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $12,569,000 after purchasing an additional 997,882 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cooper Investors PTY Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Shenandoah Telecommunications by 81.0% in the fourth quarter. Cooper Investors PTY Ltd. now owns 950,951 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,993,000 after purchasing an additional 425,582 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.96% of the company’s stock.

About Shenandoah Telecommunications

Shenandoah Telecommunications Company operates as a diversified communications provider offering both wireless and wireline services across rural markets in the Mid-Atlantic region. Headquartered in Edinburg, Virginia, the company designs, builds and maintains network infrastructure to deliver mobile connectivity, high-speed broadband access and related telecommunications solutions to residential, business and wholesale customers.

In its wireless segment, the company owns and operates a portfolio of cellular towers and associated spectrum under a long-term partnership with a national carrier.