Cable One (NYSE:CABO) Issues Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $80.17 EPS

Cable One (NYSE:CABO) released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The company reported ($75.66) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.51 by ($80.17), FiscalAI reports. The firm had revenue of $332.15 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $341.27 million. Cable One had a negative net margin of 112.20% and a negative return on equity of 16.70%.

Here are the key takeaways from Cable One’s conference call:

• Broadband net losses narrowed to approximately 7,500 from 17,100 in Q2, the company’s best net-add result in seven quarters, but subscribers continued to decline. Customer acquisition improved, while retention remains a priority.
• Revenue fell 11.6% year over year to $332.2 million, and Adjusted EBITDA declined to $159.8 million from $201.9 million. Free cash flow, defined as Adjusted EBITDA less capital expenditures, was $81.9 million versus $130.1 million a year earlier; competitive pricing and lower broadband ARPU weighed on results.
• Business-services sold revenue rose 17% sequentially, with gains across primary sales channels and particularly strong results in enterprise and carrier. The company said it is focused on converting sold revenue into installed, billable revenue.
• Net leverage was 4.1 times at quarter-end after a net $500 million revolver draw, and the company said it is evaluating financing alternatives to maintain flexibility. It reported $674.8 million in cash and $3.55 billion in gross debt.

Cable One Trading Down 16.1%

CABO stock traded down $0.83 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $4.33. 493,901 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 811,708. Cable One has a 52-week low of $4.01 and a 52-week high of $137.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.27, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.48. The business has a 50 day moving average of $13.34 and a 200-day moving average of $55.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.55 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.02 and a beta of 0.61.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on CABO shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Cable One from a “sell (e)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Cable One from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. Williams Trading set a $86.00 price target on shares of Cable One in a research note on Friday, August 7th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Cable One from $111.00 to $86.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price objective on shares of Cable One from $40.00 to $13.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cable One currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $80.00.

About Cable One

Cable One, Inc is a broadband communications provider serving residential and business customers in smaller cities and rural communities across the United States. The company operates primarily under the Sparklight brand and provides connectivity services over its cable and fiber networks.

Its consumer offerings include high-speed internet, video entertainment and traditional voice services, along with related products such as Wi-Fi solutions and streaming-oriented television options. For business customers, Cable One provides internet access, data connectivity, communications services and other technology solutions designed for organizations of various sizes.

Cable One traces its history to the cable operations of Graham Holdings Company and became an independent publicly traded company in 2015.