John Malone is turning up the heat on Cablevision.
Malone-owned Liberty Media’s $2.6 billion bet on cable operator Charter Communications has underscored for Wall Street the widening performance gulf between laggard Cablevision and its peers.
While Charter, whose operations are mostly based in western states, and Time Warner Cable are hovering near 52-week highs, Cablevision’s stock is stagnant.
“Everybody is doing great in this space except for poor old Cablevision,” said Rich Tullo, an analyst at Albert Fried & Co.
Charter closed up 5.4 percent at $105.77 yesterday, while Cablevision rose 1.7 percent to $14.81.
Bethpage, LI-based Cablevision has been grappling with competition from Verizon FiOs and costs related to Superstorm Sandy.
Tullo believes Cablevision, controlled by the Dolan family, could boost its share price and save as much as $150 million a year by dumping noncore assets, Newsday and Clearview Cinemas.
A spokesman for Cablevision declined to comment.