Shares of Switch, Inc. (NYSE:SWCH) have been given an average recommendation of “Buy” by the fifteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twelve have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $28.18.
Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on SWCH shares. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Switch in a report on Wednesday, December 15th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Switch from $23.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 26th. Credit Suisse Group lifted their price objective on Switch from $27.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Switch from $23.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 3rd. Finally, Zacks Investment Research downgraded Switch from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 10th.
Shares of NYSE:SWCH opened at $28.70 on Friday. Switch has a 1-year low of $13.38 and a 1-year high of $28.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $26.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.00. The company has a market capitalization of $6.95 billion, a PE ratio of 168.82 and a beta of 0.67.
Switch (NYSE:SWCH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 4th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.04 by ($0.03). Switch had a net margin of 3.95% and a return on equity of 3.90%. The company had revenue of $158.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $159.58 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.05 earnings per share. Switch’s revenue was up 22.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Switch will post 0.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 19th were given a dividend of $0.052 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 18th. This represents a $0.21 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. Switch’s payout ratio is currently 123.53%.
In other news, major shareholder Stella Roy sold 131,679 shares of Switch stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.65, for a total transaction of $3,245,887.35. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Rob Roy sold 200,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.79, for a total value of $5,358,000.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,551,679 shares of company stock worth $39,541,887. Insiders own 29.18% of the company’s stock.
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. lifted its holdings in Switch by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 157,715 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,004,000 after purchasing an additional 11,508 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Switch during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,897,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Switch by 22.1% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,985,741 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,417,000 after acquiring an additional 359,739 shares in the last quarter. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Switch during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $238,000. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Switch during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $950,000. 47.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
About Switch
Switch, Inc (Nevada) engages in the provision of technology infrastructure. It specializes in the development of digital platforms for digital media companies, cloud and managed service providers, financial institutions, and telecommunications providers. The firm’s products include Switch CONNECT and Switch SAFE.