Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Stake in AMC Networks Inc. (NASDAQ:AMCX)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of AMC Networks Inc. (NASDAQ:AMCX) by 88.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 21,059 shares of the company’s stock after selling 155,858 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in AMC Networks were worth $183,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Royce & Associates LP boosted its holdings in AMC Networks by 134.0% in the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 145,788 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,267,000 after purchasing an additional 83,476 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of AMC Networks by 163.9% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 89,474 shares of the company’s stock worth $778,000 after buying an additional 55,565 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd grew its holdings in shares of AMC Networks by 361.2% in the second quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 93,486 shares of the company’s stock worth $903,000 after acquiring an additional 73,216 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its holdings in AMC Networks by 194.0% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 124,174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,200,000 after acquiring an additional 81,937 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in AMC Networks by 72.9% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 313,605 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,029,000 after purchasing an additional 132,207 shares during the last quarter. 78.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of AMC Networks from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of AMC Networks from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on AMC Networks from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $8.50.

AMC Networks Price Performance

AMC Networks stock opened at $9.58 on Wednesday. AMC Networks Inc. has a 52-week low of $7.08 and a 52-week high of $19.44. The company has a quick ratio of 2.32, a current ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $9.29 and its 200 day moving average is $9.29. The company has a market cap of $422.68 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.21 and a beta of 1.32.

AMC Networks (NASDAQ:AMCX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.29. AMC Networks had a return on equity of 17.41% and a net margin of 1.45%. The company had revenue of $599.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $587.12 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.85 EPS. AMC Networks’s quarterly revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that AMC Networks Inc. will post 4.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AMC Networks Profile

AMC Networks Inc, an entertainment company, owns and operates a suite of video entertainment products that are delivered to audiences, a platform to distributors, and advertisers in the United States, Europe, and internationally. The company operates through Domestic Operations, and International and Other segments.