j2 Global (JCOM) Q3 Earnings Beat Estimates; Dividend Up
Los Angeles, CA-based j2 Global, Inc.’s JCOM third-quarter 2016 earnings (on an adjusted basis) of $1.19 per share (including stock-based compensation expenses) beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny. Also, earnings increased around 16.67% on a year-over-year basis.
Quarterly revenues came in at $210.1 million, up 17.6% year over year. The top line, however, missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $213 million. Segment-wise, total Cloud Service revenues grew13.5% to $142.2 million in the reported quarter. Digital Media revenues came in at $66.8 million, up 27.7%. IP Licensing revenues remained flat year over year at $1.1 million in the third quarter.
j2 Global posted quarterly operating expenses of $111million in the quarter under review, up 20.3% from the year-ago quarter. Quarterly EBITDA (on an adjusted basis) climbed 13.2% year over year to $95.4 million.
j2 Global exited the third quarter with approximately $285.6 million in cash and cash equivalents compared with $255.5 million at the end of 2015. Long-term debt at the end of the reported quarter was $599.3 million compared with $592 million at the end of 2015. Free cash flow, at the end of the first three quarters of the year, declined 20.6% year over year to $177.2 million.
Dividend Increased
In a shareholder friendly move, the company’s board of directors declared a 2.9% increase in its quarterly dividend. The company will now pay a dividend of 35.5 cents per share. This marks the 21st successive quarterly dividend hike. The payment will be made on Dec 5, to shareholders on record as of Nov 18, 2016.
J2 GLOBAL INC Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
J2 GLOBAL INC Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | J2 GLOBAL INC Quote
2016 View Reiterated
The Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) companymaintained its revenue guidance at the band of $830 million to $860 million for 2016. Earnings (on an adjusted basis) projection has been reiterated in the range of $4.70–$5.00 per share. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2016 earnings is pegged at $4.68 per share on revenues of $854.2 million. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
The company continues to put in efforts to boost its operational performance despite increasing competition from peers likeApigee Corp APIC, Atlassian Corporation Plc TEAM, and Box, Inc. BOX.
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