Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases 6,024 Shares of Shenandoah Telecommunications Co (NASDAQ:SHEN)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Shenandoah Telecommunications Co (NASDAQ:SHEN) by 2.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 228,612 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,024 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.42% of Shenandoah Telecommunications worth $2,874,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Shenandoah Telecommunications by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,529,847 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $69,731,000 after acquiring an additional 68,133 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Shenandoah Telecommunications by 1.3% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Shenandoah Telecommunications by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 433,218 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,463,000 after acquiring an additional 48,233 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in Shenandoah Telecommunications by 28.8% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 302,755 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,818,000 after acquiring an additional 67,715 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Shenandoah Telecommunications by 66.7% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 239,856 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,025,000 after purchasing an additional 96,006 shares during the period. 61.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Shenandoah Telecommunications Price Performance

Shares of SHEN opened at $14.73 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $808.09 million, a PE ratio of -24.15 and a beta of 0.89. The company’s 50-day moving average is $13.31 and its 200-day moving average is $12.46. Shenandoah Telecommunications Co has a fifty-two week low of $9.77 and a fifty-two week high of $21.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 1.20.

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

Insider Activity

In other Shenandoah Telecommunications news, major shareholder Ecp Controlco, Llc purchased 36,238 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $12.58 per share, for a total transaction of $455,874.04. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 2,599,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,698,866.92. The trade was a 1.41% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Ecp Fiber Holdings Gp, Llc purchased 32,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $12.46 per share, for a total transaction of $398,720.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 2,532,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,557,404.62. This represents a 1.28% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 403,272 shares of company stock worth $5,449,163 over the last 90 days. 4.51% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on SHEN. BWS Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of Shenandoah Telecommunications in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Shenandoah Telecommunications to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th.

About Shenandoah Telecommunications

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.