Consolidated Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNSL – Get Rating) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,100,000 shares, a growth of 14.1% from the August 15th total of 1,840,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 426,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.9 days. Approximately 2.9% of the company’s shares are short sold.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several research firms have recently issued reports on CNSL. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Consolidated Communications from $6.00 to $7.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 4th. StockNews.com cut Consolidated Communications from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 18th. Finally, Citigroup cut Consolidated Communications from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $5.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, July 7th.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC purchased a new position in Consolidated Communications in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. CX Institutional purchased a new stake in shares of Consolidated Communications during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its position in shares of Consolidated Communications by 38.2% during the first quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 7,183 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 1,987 shares during the last quarter. First Quadrant LLC CA purchased a new stake in shares of Consolidated Communications during the first quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, KBC Group NV purchased a new stake in shares of Consolidated Communications during the second quarter worth about $43,000. 81.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Consolidated Communications Stock Performance
Shares of CNSL traded up $0.17 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $5.64. The stock had a trading volume of 753,518 shares, compared to its average volume of 283,421. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.98. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $6.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $6.37. Consolidated Communications has a 12-month low of $4.51 and a 12-month high of $9.70.
Consolidated Communications (NASDAQ:CNSL – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by $0.03. Consolidated Communications had a positive return on equity of 6.08% and a negative net margin of 8.64%.
About Consolidated Communications
Consolidated Communications Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides broadband and business communication solutions for consumer, commercial, and carrier channels in the United States. It offers high-speed broadband Internet access and voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) phone services; commercial data connectivity services in various markets, including Ethernet services, private line data services, software defined wide area network, and multi-protocol label switching services; networking services; cloud-based services; data center and disaster recovery solutions; and wholesale services to regional and national interexchange, and wireless carriers comprising cellular backhaul and other fiber transport solutions.
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Read More: Short Interest in Consolidated Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNSL) Rises By 14.1%