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

Consolidated Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNSL) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,490,000 shares, a growth of 6.7% from the June 30th total of 4,210,000 shares. Currently, 5.9% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 519,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 8.6 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Consolidated Communications

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Consolidated Communications by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,269,494 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $21,442,000 after buying an additional 128,005 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Consolidated Communications by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,374,522 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,329,000 after purchasing an additional 73,582 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Consolidated Communications by 54.5% during the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,689,559 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,299,000 after buying an additional 596,244 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC bought a new position in Consolidated Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,871,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Consolidated Communications by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 604,060 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,658,000 after acquiring an additional 16,217 shares during the period. 79.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Consolidated Communications Price Performance

Shares of CNSL remained flat at $4.60 during mid-day trading on Thursday. 425,915 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 641,565. The stock has a market cap of $544.78 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.77 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $4.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $4.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.09. Consolidated Communications has a 12 month low of $3.28 and a 12 month high of $4.65.

Consolidated Communications (NASDAQ:CNSL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported ($0.28) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $274.68 million for the quarter. Consolidated Communications had a negative return on equity of 19.47% and a negative net margin of 22.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com began coverage on Consolidated Communications in a research note on Saturday, July 27th. They issued a “sell” rating for the company.

About Consolidated Communications

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.