Westchester Capital Management LLC Decreases Holdings in Shaw Communications Inc. (NYSE:SJR)

Westchester Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Shaw Communications Inc. (NYSE:SJR – Get Rating) (TSE:SJR.B) by 26.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 847,911 shares of the company’s stock after selling 301,468 shares during the quarter. Westchester Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.18% of Shaw Communications worth $20,622,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Shaw Communications in the 2nd quarter worth about $44,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Shaw Communications in the 2nd quarter worth about $44,000. Power Corp of Canada purchased a new stake in Shaw Communications in the 1st quarter worth about $54,000. Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. purchased a new stake in Shaw Communications in the 2nd quarter worth about $66,000. Finally, Shell Asset Management Co. purchased a new stake in Shaw Communications in the 2nd quarter worth about $177,000. 55.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on SJR. Royal Bank of Canada lowered Shaw Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 3rd. National Bank Financial downgraded Shaw Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 4th. StockNews.com downgraded Shaw Communications from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, March 10th. Desjardins downgraded Shaw Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 13th. Finally, Scotiabank downgraded Shaw Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $40.50.

Shaw Communications Stock Performance

Shares of SJR opened at $28.43 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $13.58 billion, a PE ratio of 24.94 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $29.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $27.14. Shaw Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $23.64 and a 12-month high of $31.60.

Shaw Communications (NYSE:SJR – Get Rating) (TSE:SJR.B) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 12th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. Shaw Communications had a net margin of 13.57% and a return on equity of 11.70%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Shaw Communications Inc. will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Shaw Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.074 per share. This represents a $0.89 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.12%. This is a boost from Shaw Communications’s previous monthly dividend of $0.07. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 14th. Shaw Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 78.07%.

About Shaw Communications

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Shaw Communications, Inc engages in the provision of cable telecommunications and satellite video services. The company was founded by James Robert Shaw on December 9, 1966 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.