Consolidated Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNSL) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Consolidated Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNSL) was the target 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. Currently, 4.5% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 732,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.5 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Consolidated Communications Price Performance

NASDAQ CNSL opened at $4.28 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $4.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $4.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.25, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Consolidated Communications has a 1-year low of $2.93 and a 1-year high of $4.65.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Consolidated Communications

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ballentine Partners LLC bought a new position in Consolidated Communications in the 4th quarter worth $6,871,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Consolidated Communications by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,300,940 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,869,000 after buying an additional 153,318 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank increased its stake in Consolidated Communications by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 166,647 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $570,000 after buying an additional 4,800 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund purchased a new stake in Consolidated Communications in the 3rd quarter worth $165,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in Consolidated Communications in the 4th quarter worth $239,000. 79.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Consolidated Communications Company Profile

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.