Uniti Group Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:UNIT)

Uniti Group Inc. (NASDAQ:UNIT) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Stock investors acquired 7,771 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 258% compared to the typical volume of 2,170 put options.

Uniti Group Stock Down 3.6 %

Shares of UNIT traded down $0.20 on Monday, hitting $5.32. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,283,807 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,654,997. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $4.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $4.42. Uniti Group has a fifty-two week low of $2.57 and a fifty-two week high of $6.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 92.02 and a beta of 1.28.

Uniti Group (NASDAQ:UNIT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.28). Uniti Group had a net margin of 0.79% and a negative return on equity of 0.37%. The company had revenue of $294.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $289.97 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.34 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Uniti Group will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $5.50 target price on shares of Uniti Group in a research note on Thursday, August 29th.

Insider Activity at Uniti Group

In other news, SVP Ronald J. Mudry sold 28,693 shares of Uniti Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.94, for a total transaction of $113,050.42. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 513,761 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,024,218.34. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.39% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in Uniti Group by 9.6% in the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 30,923 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $90,000 after acquiring an additional 2,711 shares in the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp boosted its holdings in Uniti Group by 1.4% during the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 208,133 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,228,000 after purchasing an additional 2,938 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Uniti Group by 49.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,906 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 2,960 shares during the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp grew its position in Uniti Group by 4.5% in the first quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 76,360 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $451,000 after purchasing an additional 3,254 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in Uniti Group by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 48,051 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $284,000 after buying an additional 3,339 shares during the last quarter. 87.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Uniti Group

Uniti, an internally managed real estate investment trust, is engaged in the acquisition and construction of mission critical communications infrastructure, and is a leading provider of fiber and other wireless solutions for the communications industry. As of December 31, 2023, Uniti owns approximately 140,000 fiber route miles, 8.5 million fiber strand miles, and other communications real estate throughout the United States.