Short Interest in Consolidated Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNSL) Expands By 9.7%

Consolidated Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNSL) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,290,000 shares, an increase of 9.7% from the March 15th total of 3,000,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 732,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.5 days. Currently, 4.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Consolidated Communications

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ballentine Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Consolidated Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,871,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in Consolidated Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,103,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Consolidated Communications by 188.1% during the 2nd quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 566,296 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,169,000 after buying an additional 369,763 shares in the last quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in Consolidated Communications during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,352,000. Finally, Highbridge Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Consolidated Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,343,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Consolidated Communications in a research note on Sunday. They set a “sell” rating for the company.

Consolidated Communications Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CNSL opened at $4.28 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.25. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $4.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $4.25. Consolidated Communications has a fifty-two week low of $2.93 and a fifty-two week high of $4.65.

Consolidated Communications (NASDAQ:CNSL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 5th. The utilities provider reported ($0.27) earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $275.18 million for the quarter. Consolidated Communications had a negative return on equity of 16.89% and a negative net margin of 22.53%.

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, SIP trunking, 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; and data center and disaster recovery solutions.