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Windstream Corporation

5/24/2013, 4:44 AM ET

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Thursday, May 9, 1:13 PM Frontier (FTR -1.6%) ticks lower as two rural telco peers head in opposite directions following their Q1 reports. CenturyLink (CTL +1.9%) is rallying in response to an EPS beat and reaffirmed free cash flow guidance, and Windstream (WIN -4.2%) is selling off due to a revenue/EPS miss caused by ongoing wholesale and (to a lesser extent) consumer weakness. Also: Highfields Capital's Jonathan Jacobson made a bear case for AT&T today featuring arguments - slumping wireline revenue and a potentially unsustainable dividend yield - that are often levied against rural telcos. (transcripts: CenturyLink, Windstream) (Frontier Q1: I, II) Comment! [Tech, On the Move]
Thursday, May 9, 11:32 AM A Q1 miss leads Windstream (WIN -5.4%) to dive towards its 52-week low. A 17% Y/Y drop in wholesale revenue (fewer consumer voice lines and lower intrastate access rates) took a toll. Consumer connections fell another 43K Q/Q to 3.44M, and business connections by 11K to 627K. Consumer voice lines fell by 29K to 1.81M, consumer broadband lines by 8.6K, and digital TV subs by 5K. Enterprise customers were a bright spot, growing by 6K Q/Q, but small business customers fell by 17K. Altogether, business revenue (61% of total) +2% Y/Y, and consumer -2%. (PR) 3 Comments [Tech, On the Move, Earnings]
Thursday, May 9, 7:03 AM Windstream (WIN): Q1 EPS of $0.10 misses by $0.01. Revenue of $1.5B (-2% Y/Y) misses by $0.03B. (PR) 4 Comments [Earnings, Breaking News, Tech]
Thursday, May 9, 12:05 AM Notable earnings before Thursday’s open: AES, AGU, ALR, AM, AMRC, APA, BAM, BCE, CBB, CNSL, CTB, CVC, DF, DISH, DNDN, GLP, GTIV, IRC, KEM, KIOR, MEA, NPSP, OWW, PCP, SNE, SNSS, SPH, SRPT, TK, TNK, VICL, VNDA, WAC, WFR, WIN, WWAV, XRAY Comment! [Earnings]
Wednesday, May 8, 5:30 PM Notable earnings before Thursday’s open: AES, AGU, ALR, AM, AMRC, APA, BAM, BCE, CBB, CNSL, CTB, CVC, DF, DISH, DNDN, GLP, GTIV, IRC, KEM, KIOR, MEA, NPSP, OWW, PCP, SNE, SNSS, SPH, SRPT, TK, TNK, VICL, VNDA, WAC, WFR, WIN, WWAV, XRAY Comment! [Earnings]
Wednesday, May 8, 1:12 PM Windstream (WIN) declares $0.25/share quarterly dividend, in line with previous. Forward yield 11.70%. For shareholders of record June 28. Payable July 15. Ex-div date June 26. (PR) 1 Comment [Dividends]
Friday, April 26, 7:35 AM BofA/Merrill downgrades Windstream (WIN) to Neutral. The rural telco, which reaffirmed its commitment to its lofty dividend (11.4% yield) in February amidst concerns it's unsustainable, delivers its Q1 report on May 9. Shares fell on Wednesday in response to AT&T's disappointing wireline top-line numbers (particularly for wireline voice services). 13.2% of the float was shorted as of March 28. 3 Comments [Tech]
Wednesday, April 24, 10:44 AM AT&T (T -5.4%) gets slammed as 3 downgrades arrive in response to its Q1 revenue miss, the result of soft wireless subscriber adds and declining wireline revenue. There might also be concerns about whether lowering 2014/2015 capex targets (to fuel more buybacks?) is a bright idea in light of flagging growth. AT&T's 296K Q1 postpaid net adds (boosted by tablets) and 184K prepaid net losses are easily worse than Verizon's respective net adds of 677K and 43K. On the earnings call, AT&T mostly blamed wireline weakness on macro and government issues, rather than legacy voice service declines. VZ -1.9%. CTL -4%. WIN -2.2%. FTR -1.1%. 8 Comments [Tech, Earnings, On the Move]
Thursday, April 4, 10:35 AM CenturyLink's (CTL +2.4%) dividend (current yield of 6%) is sustainable, declares JPMorgan's Philip Cusick while upgrading shares to Buy - CenturyLink crashed in Feb. after cutting its dividend by over 25%. Cusick notes the telco's yield remains higher than Verizon and AT&T's, and believes it has been making good use of its $2B buyback plan. The upgrade comes as rural telcos try to take advantage of FCC chairman Julius Genachowski's pending departure to get Congress to implement a "time out" for the FCC's Universal Service Fund reforms. Comment! [Tech, On the Move, Quick Ideas]
Monday, April 1, 4:07 PM Windstream (WIN +0.6%) directors Samuel E. Beall and Carol B. Armitage recently bought 30K and 1K shares, respectively. The purchases come as Windstream trades near its 52-week low amidst concerns its hefty dividend (current yield of 12.5%) isn't sustainable. 17 Comments [Tech]
Friday, March 8, 10:58 AM Looking to protect the duopoly/near-duopoly positions they have in many U.S. broadband markets, U.S. telcos and cable companies are lobbying hard to put an end to publicly-funded broadband networks, arguing (without irony) such networks hurt competition. AT&T (T), Time Warner Cable (TWC), Windstream (WIN), and Comcast (CMCSA) are some of the incumbents to have mounted lobbying efforts, which have led at least 19 states to place restrictions on public broadband investments. 13 Comments [Tech]
Saturday, February 23, 2:47 PM "There's no need for us to cut our dividend, neither this year nor next year nor in the future," says Windstream (WIN) CEO Jeff Gardner - his firm is committed to a $1/share/year payout (11.7% yield). But while Gardner argues a focus on business services will allow Windstream to avoid CenturyLink's (CTL) fate, many think rural telco yields can't last in light of wireline disconnections, capex needs, and potential tax credit removals. Nomura: "A lot of these companies are carrying the baggage of a legacy dividend policy that just doesn't make sense any more." FTR has a 9.8% yield, and CNSL a 9.3% yield. 16 Comments [Tech]
Wednesday, February 20, 11:49 AM After barely moving yesterday following its Q4 EPS miss, Windstream (WIN -3.8%) is selling off today in response to a downgrade to Sell from UBS. The firm thinks Windstream's dividend payout isn't sustainable, though the telco just reaffirmed its commitment to it. Windstream, which currently sports an 11.6% yield, generated adjusted free cash flow of $768M, and paid out 77% of that total in dividends. Can Windstream keep this up in the face of declining high-margin wireline voice revenue? Peer CenturyLink slashed its dividend last week. 3 Comments [Tech, On the Move, Quick Ideas]
Tuesday, February 19, 6:23 AM Windstream (WIN): Q4 EPS of $0.11 misses by $0.02. Revenue of $1.54B (-2% Y/Y) in-line. (PR) 2 Comments [Earnings, Breaking News, Tech]
Tuesday, February 19, 12:05 AM Notable earnings before Tuesday’s open: ACT, BCRX, DCIX, FUN, GPC, MDT, MRGE, NGPC, NI, NM, ROC, SAVE, SEE, WAB, WIN, XEC, YNDX Comment! [Earnings]
Monday, February 18, 5:30 PM Notable earnings before Tuesday’s open: ACT, BCRX, DCIX, FUN, GPC, MDT, MRGE, NGPC, NI, NM, ROC, SAVE, SEE, WAB, WIN, XEC, YNDX Comment! [Earnings]