Out of the Gate: DirecTV shares climb on 1Q earnings
NEW YORK—Shares of DirecTV Group Inc. traded higher Wednesday morning after the digital and satellite TV provider posted first-quarter earnings that rose 10 percent and beat Wall Street estimates.
The stock gained $1.19, or 4.6 percent, to $26.99.
Stifel Nicolaus analyst Kit Spring reiterated his "Buy" rating and $30 price target on DirecTV in a note to investors early Wednesday.
Spring called the results "strong across the board," noting that they beat his estimates in a number of categories. He was also upbeat on the company's plans to use the roughly $2.5 billion in debt to finance new stock repurchase programs.
Separately, Goldman Sachs analyst Ingrid Chung also praised DirecTV's results and highlighted its higher subscriber base, which helped power its earnings. She left her "Neutral" rating unchanged.
"We view the company's operational performance and increase of the share repurchase program positively," Chung said but added she was awaiting more details on its pay TV segment's performance from the company's 2 p.m. conference call.
Early Wednesday, the El Segundo, Calif., company said its first-quarter profit climbed to 32 cents per share from 27 cents per share a year ago. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected earnings of 31 cents per share, on average.
