Optimum Communications, Inc. (NYSE:OPTU) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Optimum Communications, Inc. (NYSE:OPTU) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” by the eight analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a hold rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $0.95.

A number of research analysts recently commented on OPTU shares. Zacks Research upgraded Optimum Communications from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Optimum Communications from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. Raymond James Financial lowered Optimum Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Evercore set a $1.25 price target on Optimum Communications in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Benchmark downgraded Optimum Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Optimum Communications news, General Counsel Michael Olsen sold 250,000 shares of Optimum Communications stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.60, for a total transaction of $400,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 1,496,277 shares in the company, valued at $2,394,043.20. This trade represents a 14.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 310,000 shares of company stock worth $485,600 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 44.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Optimum Communications

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in OPTU. Vanguard Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Optimum Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,002,000. Empyrean Capital Partners LP acquired a new stake in Optimum Communications in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,297,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in Optimum Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,135,000. Millennium Management LLC purchased a new stake in Optimum Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $24,478,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Optimum Communications by 11.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,803,557 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,217,000 after purchasing an additional 879,589 shares in the last quarter. 54.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Optimum Communications Price Performance

NYSE:OPTU opened at $0.81 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $1.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1.63. Optimum Communications has a 1-year low of $0.79 and a 1-year high of $2.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $387.61 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.08 and a beta of 1.56.

Optimum Communications (NYSE:OPTU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported ($0.15) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01) by ($0.14). The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.12) EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Optimum Communications will post -0.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Optimum Communications Company Profile

Altice USA, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides broadband communications and video services in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. It offers broadband, video, telephony, and mobile services to approximately five million residential and business customers. The company’s video services include delivery of broadcast stations and cable networks; over the top services; video-on-demand, high-definition channels, digital video recorder, and pay-per-view services; and platforms for video programming through mobile applications.