Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd Takes $5.36 Million Position in AMC Networks Inc. (NASDAQ:AMCX)

Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of AMC Networks Inc. (NASDAQ:AMCX) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 541,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,359,000. Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd owned 1.23% of AMC Networks at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AMCX. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of AMC Networks during the fourth quarter valued at $59,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP purchased a new position in AMC Networks in the third quarter valued at about $88,000. FORA Capital LLC purchased a new position in AMC Networks in the third quarter valued at about $89,000. MML Investors Services LLC purchased a new position in AMC Networks in the third quarter valued at about $91,000. Finally, Martingale Asset Management L P purchased a new position in AMC Networks in the third quarter valued at about $95,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.51% of the company’s stock.

AMC Networks Trading Up 0.8 %

AMC Networks stock opened at $7.16 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.38, a current ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63. AMC Networks Inc. has a 52 week low of $6.59 and a 52 week high of $18.58. The company has a market capitalization of $316.01 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.36 and a beta of 1.33. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $8.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $8.72.

AMC Networks (NASDAQ:AMCX) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 14th. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.41). AMC Networks had a positive return on equity of 18.61% and a negative net margin of 9.36%. The firm had revenue of $599.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $611.26 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.72 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that AMC Networks Inc. will post 2.62 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on AMCX. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on AMC Networks from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on AMC Networks from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded AMC Networks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $8.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider F. Dolan 2009 Revocabl Charles sold 154,345 shares of AMC Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.95, for a total transaction of $1,072,697.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 20,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $144,789.35. This trade represents a 88.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 25.87% of the company’s stock.

AMC Networks Company Profile

AMC Networks Inc, an entertainment company, owns and operates a suite of video entertainment products that are delivered to audiences, a platform to distributors, and advertisers in the United States, Europe, and internationally. The company operates through Domestic Operations, and International and Other segments.