Consolidated Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNSL) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Consolidated Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNSL) saw a significant increase in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,290,000 shares, an increase of 9.7% from the March 15th total of 3,000,000 shares. Approximately 4.5% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 732,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.5 days.

Consolidated Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CNSL remained flat at $4.29 during midday trading on Monday. 237,890 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 714,748. The business’s 50 day moving average is $4.31 and its 200-day moving average is $4.24. Consolidated Communications has a 52 week low of $2.93 and a 52 week high of $4.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.25.

Consolidated Communications (NASDAQ:CNSL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 5th. The utilities provider reported ($0.27) EPS for the quarter. Consolidated Communications had a negative return on equity of 16.89% and a negative net margin of 22.53%. The company had revenue of $275.18 million for the quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Consolidated Communications in a research report on Sunday. They set a “sell” rating on the stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Consolidated Communications

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Consolidated Communications by 397.5% during the first quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,969 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 8,764 shares during the period. Advisor Partners II LLC acquired a new stake in Consolidated Communications in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Consolidated Communications by 26.3% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 13,488 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 2,812 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Consolidated Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in Consolidated Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. 79.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.