A month has gone by since the last earnings report for Dycom Industries (DY). Shares have added about 2.7% in that time frame, outperforming the S&P 500.
Will the recent positive trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Dycom Industries due for a pullback? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at the most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important catalysts.
Dycom Q1 Earnings & Revenues Surpass Estimates
Dycom Industries reported impressive first-quarter fiscal 2020 (ended Apr 27, 2019) results, wherein both earnings and revenues surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate.
Adjusted earnings of 53 cents topped the consensus estimate of 43 cents by 23.3%. However, the figure declined 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. The company pointed out that although major customers have stepped up infrastructure spending, higher-than-expected costs have hurt Dycom’s margins.
Revenue Discussion
Dycom reported fiscal first-quarter contract revenues of $833.7 million, increasing 14% year over year. The reported figure surpassed the consensus mark of $770.6 million by 8.2%. Organically, revenues improved 15.8% year over year during the quarter, backed by deployment of 1-gigabit wireline networks, wireless/wireline converged networks and wireless networks. Notably, organic revenues excluded $4.7 million of storm restoration services and contract revenues of $6.1 million from an acquired business in the reported quarter.
Its top five customers contributed 80.4% to total contract revenues, increasing 19.4% organically. Dycom’s largest customer AT&T (NYSE:T) accounted for 25.1% of the total revenues. AT&T grew 28.7% organically. Verizon (NYSE:VZ), which contributed 21.6%, was up 47.2% organically; Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) accounted for 16.4%; CenturyLink (NYSE:CTL) added 17.8%; and Windstream, representing 4.1% of the total revenues, climbed 38% organically. Revenues from all other customers grew 3% organically in the quarter.
Dycom’s backlog at the end of the reported quarter totaled $7.051 billion versus $7.33 billion at January 2019-end. Approximately $2.723 billion of the backlog is projected to be completed in the next 12 months.
Operating Highlights
Adjusted gross margin of 16.8% declined 161 basis points (bps). Margins were impacted by cost of a large customer program.
Adjusted EBITDA margin contracted 130 bps to 8.8% compared with 10.1% in the year-ago quarter.
Financials
Dycom had cash and cash equivalents of $33.6 million as of Apr 27, 2019 compared with $128.3 million on Jan 26, 2019.
Its long-term debt was $867.4 million at the end of the first quarter compared with $867.6 million at fiscal 2019-end.
Second-Quarter Fiscal 2020 Guidance
The company anticipates contract revenues in the range of $835-$885 million, above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $840.1 million, considering the mid-point of the guided range. Also, the said range is above the year-ago reported figure of $799.5 million.
Adjusted earnings are anticipated within 70-92 cents per share. Considering the mid-point of this guidance, the estimated range is below the consensus mark of 86 cents per share for the quarter. Also, the said range is way below the prior-year reported figure of $1.05 per share. Dycom expects adjusted EBITDA margin to decrease from the year-ago period.
How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?
In the past month, investors have witnessed a downward trend in fresh estimates.
VGM Scores
At this time, Dycom Industries has a poor Growth Score of F, however its Momentum Score is doing a lot better with a C. Following the exact same course, the stock was allocated a grade of C on the value side, putting it in the middle 20% for this investment strategy.
Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of F. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.
Outlook
Estimates have been broadly trending downward for the stock, and the magnitude of these revisions indicates a downward shift. Notably, Dycom Industries has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months.
Dycom Industries, Inc. (DY): Free Stock Analysis Report
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