Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Stake in Shenandoah Telecommunications (NASDAQ:SHEN)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in Shenandoah Telecommunications (NASDAQ:SHEN) by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 216,265 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 31,134 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.40% of Shenandoah Telecommunications worth $3,051,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Shenandoah Telecommunications by 1.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,488,067 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $95,328,000 after acquiring an additional 51,697 shares in the last quarter. GCM Grosvenor Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in Shenandoah Telecommunications in the 2nd quarter valued at $66,959,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Shenandoah Telecommunications by 1.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,576,290 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,070,000 after purchasing an additional 29,413 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Shenandoah Telecommunications by 3.0% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 466,677 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,621,000 after buying an additional 13,776 shares during the period. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Shenandoah Telecommunications by 11.5% in the second quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 140,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,294,000 after buying an additional 14,500 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on SHEN shares. StockNews.com raised Shenandoah Telecommunications to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. BWS Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of Shenandoah Telecommunications in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th.

Shenandoah Telecommunications Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SHEN opened at $13.26 on Friday. Shenandoah Telecommunications has a 1-year low of $11.87 and a 1-year high of $23.56. The stock has a market cap of $724.00 million, a P/E ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $14.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $15.89.

Shenandoah Telecommunications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced an annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 0.66%. This is a positive change from Shenandoah Telecommunications’s previous annual dividend of $0.09. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 5th. Shenandoah Telecommunications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2.57%.

Shenandoah Telecommunications Profile

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.