Cablevision Systems Corporation Shares Rise on Q3 Earnings Beat; Dividend Maintained (CVC)

Regional cable TV and Internet provider Cablevision Systems Corporation (CVC) on Friday announced better-than-expected third quarter earnings results, reversing a year-ago loss.

Cablevision’s Q3 Earnings in Brief
- Net income totaled $294.6 million, or $1.10 per share, reversing last year’s loss of $3.79 million, or -1 penny per share.
- Revenue rose 1.8% from last year to $1.57 billion.
- Analysts expected much lower earnings of just 11 cents per share, on matching revenue.

Latest Dividend Reiterated; Yield Surpasses Peers
In its earnings release, Cablevision announced it would continue its dividend payout of 15 cents per share. The latest dividend will be paid on Dec. 13 with an ex-dividend date of Nov. 20. The company has not raised its dividend payout since May of 2011.

Despite the lack of dividend raise, CVC’s dividend yield of 3.84% compares favorably with other stocks in its industry. Time Warner Cable (TWC) offers a yield of 2.2%, while Comcast Corporation (CMCSA) yields just 1.65%. The average dividend yield for S&P 500 companies is around 2.5%, so Cablevision’s yield is well above both its industry average as well as the wider market average. Still, its lofty yield has come more as a result of poor price performance, rather than dividend increases.

Shares Rise, but Still Tail Indexes
Cablevision shares rose more than 2% in early trading on Friday, but the company’s stock performance has lagged the wider markets for quite some time. Year-to-date, CVC has gained about 6%, compared with a 24% gain in the benchmark S&P 500 index. The stock was trading around the $38 level as recently as early 2011, so its dividend yield has risen significantly as its stock price plunged to around $16.