Shenandoah Telecommunications (NASDAQ:SHEN) Trading 6% Higher After Insider Buying Activity

Shares of Shenandoah Telecommunications Co (NASDAQ:SHEN) traded up 6% on Monday following insider buying activity. The stock traded as high as $15.84 and last traded at $15.67. 64,993 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 257,438 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.78.

Specifically, major shareholder Ecp Controlco, Llc acquired 16,943 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 10th. The shares were bought at an average price of $14.89 per share, with a total value of $252,281.27. Following the purchase, the insider owned 2,793,015 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,587,993.35. This represents a 0.61% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Ecp Controlco, Llc bought 17,687 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 9th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $14.54 per share, with a total value of $257,168.98. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 2,776,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,364,086.88. This represents a 0.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In other Shenandoah Telecommunications news, major shareholder Ecp Fiber Holdings Gp, Llc purchased 28,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 8th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $14.67 per share, with a total value of $421,029.00. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 2,758,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,465,507.95. The trade was a 1.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on SHEN. BWS Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of Shenandoah Telecommunications in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen raised Shenandoah Telecommunications to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th.

Shenandoah Telecommunications Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $13.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $12.43. The firm has a market cap of $791.08 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -23.64 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Shenandoah Telecommunications (NASDAQ:SHEN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported ($0.19) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.14) by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $87.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.31 million. Shenandoah Telecommunications had a negative return on equity of 3.18% and a negative net margin of 10.07%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.07) earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Shenandoah Telecommunications Co will post -0.49 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Shenandoah Telecommunications

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SHEN. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Shenandoah Telecommunications by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,529,847 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $69,731,000 after purchasing an additional 68,133 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Shenandoah Telecommunications by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 544,258 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,841,000 after acquiring an additional 19,130 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Shenandoah Telecommunications by 27.8% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 532,984 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,700,000 after acquiring an additional 116,040 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Shenandoah Telecommunications by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 523,981 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,607,000 after acquiring an additional 6,904 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Shenandoah Telecommunications by 12.8% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 488,650 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,142,000 after acquiring an additional 55,432 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.96% of the company’s stock.

Shenandoah Telecommunications Company Profile

Shenandoah Telecommunications Company, together with its subsidiaries, provides a range of broadband communication services and cell tower colocation space in the Mid-Atlantic portion of the United States. It operates in two segments, Broadband and Tower. The company Broadband segment offers broadband, video, and voice services to residential and commercial customers in Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Kentucky through hybrid fiber coaxial cable under the Shentel brand; and fiber optic services under the Glo Fiber brand name.