Uniti Group (NASDAQ:UNIT) Trading 5% Higher After Strong Earnings

Shares of Uniti Group Inc. (NASDAQ:UNIT) traded up 5% during trading on Monday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock traded as high as $6.17 and last traded at $5.90. 889,338 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 52% from the average session volume of 1,834,253 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.62.

The real estate investment trust reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.02. Uniti Group had a negative return on equity of 4.12% and a net margin of 8.82%. The company had revenue of $293.32 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $294.59 million.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on UNIT. Raymond James raised Uniti Group from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $6.00 to $8.00 in a report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Uniti Group from $5.50 to $6.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd.

Institutional Trading of Uniti Group

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNIT. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Uniti Group by 206.7% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 212,489 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,198,000 after acquiring an additional 143,210 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Uniti Group by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 106,104 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $572,000 after purchasing an additional 2,328 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Uniti Group by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,874,636 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $44,413,000 after purchasing an additional 452,411 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in shares of Uniti Group by 136.2% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,558,969 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $9,104,000 after purchasing an additional 898,852 shares during the last quarter. Finally, King Street Capital Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Uniti Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $8,798,000. 87.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Uniti Group Trading Up 2.7 %

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $5.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $5.42. The company has a market cap of $1.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.07 and a beta of 1.31.

About Uniti Group

Uniti Group, Inc is a real estate investment trust company, which engages in the acquisition, construction, and leasing of properties. It operates through the following business segments: Uniti Leasing, Uniti Fiber, and Corporate. The Uniti Leasing segment involves mission-critical communications assets on exclusive or shared-tenant basis, and dark fiber network.