Consolidated Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNSL) Short Interest Up 8.2% in October

Consolidated Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNSL) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,980,000 shares, a growth of 8.2% from the September 30th total of 3,680,000 shares. Currently, 5.2% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 389,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 10.2 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com assumed coverage on Consolidated Communications in a report on Saturday, July 27th. They issued a “sell” rating on the stock.

Consolidated Communications Stock Performance

Consolidated Communications stock remained flat at $4.63 during trading hours on Wednesday. 229,858 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 550,374. The stock has a market capitalization of $548.33 million, a PE ratio of -1.79 and a beta of 0.97. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $4.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $4.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.51, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72. Consolidated Communications has a 52 week low of $4.08 and a 52 week high of $4.65.

Consolidated Communications (NASDAQ:CNSL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported ($0.39) EPS for the quarter. Consolidated Communications had a negative net margin of 17.74% and a negative return on equity of 25.00%. The firm had revenue of $268.71 million during the quarter.

Institutional Trading of Consolidated Communications

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in Consolidated Communications by 14.2% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 32,657 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $144,000 after acquiring an additional 4,061 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Consolidated Communications by 9.4% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 53,012 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $230,000 after purchasing an additional 4,535 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in Consolidated Communications by 2.1% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 244,967 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,078,000 after buying an additional 5,066 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Consolidated Communications by 22.1% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 28,017 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $123,000 after buying an additional 5,074 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in Consolidated Communications by 40.2% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 37,661 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $163,000 after buying an additional 10,800 shares in the last quarter. 79.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.