🧐 ProPicks AI October update is out now! See which stocks made the listPick Stocks with AI

Charter Communications shares rise following Wells Fargo rating upgrade

Published 23/09/2023, 03:12 am
© Reuters.
CHTR
-

Shares of Charter Communications (NASDAQ:CHTR), a prominent cable company, witnessed an uptick on Friday, September 22, 2023, subsequent to a rating upgrade by banking and financial services firm, Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC). Analyst Steven Cahall revised his rating on Charter from Equal Weight to Overweight and increased his price target from $450 to $550, indicating a potential 23% surge from the stock's closing price on Thursday.

The rating uplift is largely credited to Charter's growth prospects, especially in rural areas. Cahall pointed out that the company's expansion in rural regions presents an opportunity for new customer acquisition. During a second-quarter earnings call in late July, Charter's CEO Christopher Winfrey declared that the company is currently the largest and fastest-growing rural provider in the nation.

Charter's CFO Jessica Fischer emphasized during the same call that the firm’s rural construction initiative is now disbursing at a steadier pace than in past years. This consistent spending is key to their strategy as the company reported a loss of 200,000 pay TV customers in its second quarter in July, which marks a slight improvement compared to a loss of 226,000 customers the previous year.

Charter also has high expectations for its Spectrum One bundle offering which was introduced in October 2022. The package provides customers with a complimentary mobile line. Cahall posits that if Charter can attain strong conversion rates with Spectrum One, it could generate high-margin revenue that enhances EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization).

The cable company also recently settled a disagreement with entertainment conglomerate Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS). The dispute had deprived numerous Spectrum subscribers of access to Disney-owned channels such as ESPN and ABC. Despite Charter's offer for Disney to provide Spectrum customers with complimentary access to its streaming services, Disney declined.

As of Friday, shares of Charter were up by 0.6% to $449.53. The stock's performance this year has been noteworthy, with gains totaling 33%.

This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.