Rogers Communication (NYSE:RCI) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.03 EPS

Rogers Communication (NYSE:RCI) (TSE:RCI.B) issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.03, Zacks reports. The company had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.91 billion. Rogers Communication had a return on equity of 11.41% and a net margin of 27.54%.Rogers Communication’s revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.14 earnings per share.

Here are the key takeaways from Rogers Communication’s conference call:

• Rogers posted solid Q2 results, with consolidated service revenue up 8%, adjusted EBITDA up 3%, and free cash flow of about CAD 1 billion, up 6% year over year.
• The company continued to drive lower capital intensity, with CapEx down 16% and capital intensity at 12% , the lowest since Q1 2008, and management said this should support stronger free cash flow in the second half and beyond.
• Wireless execution improved despite a tough market, with 40,000 net additions and postpaid churn falling to 0.94%. Management said the company is shifting away from aggressive discounting toward value-based plans and premium service features.
• Rogers Sports & Media delivered standout growth, with revenue up 53% to over CAD 1.2 billion and adjusted EBITDA rising sharply to CAD 69 million. Excluding MLSE, organic sports and media revenue still grew 13%, helped by Blue Jays-related revenue and higher subscriber income.
• Management reaffirmed its plan to acquire the remaining 25% of MLSE in Q4, then sell a minority non-voting stake in the combined sports/media platform, targeting first-half 2027 for monetization. They said proceeds would be used to pay down debt while preserving an investment-grade balance sheet.

Rogers Communication Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of Rogers Communication stock opened at $32.38 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.55. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $35.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $36.59. Rogers Communication has a one year low of $31.38 and a one year high of $41.14. The company has a market cap of $17.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.95, a PEG ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 0.64.

Rogers Communication Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 8th. Rogers Communication’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. TD Securities restated a “buy” rating on shares of Rogers Communication in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Rogers Communication in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Barclays decreased their target price on Rogers Communication from $37.00 to $36.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Rogers Communication in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of Rogers Communication in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $36.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of RCI. Corient Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rogers Communication during the fourth quarter worth $214,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV bought a new position in Rogers Communication during the fourth quarter worth $211,000. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury boosted its holdings in shares of Rogers Communication by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 209,385 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $7,948,000 after buying an additional 4,331 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd raised its stake in Rogers Communication by 53.7% during the fourth quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 49,230 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $1,857,000 after acquiring an additional 17,202 shares during the period. Finally, Guardian Capital LP boosted its stake in Rogers Communication by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Guardian Capital LP now owns 627,572 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $23,700,000 after acquiring an additional 4,027 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.49% of the company’s stock.

About Rogers Communication

Rogers Communications Inc is a Canadian integrated communications and media company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. The company provides a broad range of telecommunications services to residential and business customers across Canada, including wireless voice and data services, cable television, high-speed internet, and home phone services. In the enterprise market it offers managed IT, data center and cloud solutions, networking and connectivity services targeted to small businesses, large enterprises and public sector clients.

In addition to connectivity services, Rogers operates a significant media portfolio that includes national and regional television and radio assets, sports broadcasting properties and other content businesses.