S&P 500
7,401.00
+0.91%
Dow Jones
49,665.70
+0.19%
Nasdaq 100
29,241.00
+2.43%
Russell 2000
2,860.88
+0.82%
FTSE 100
10,263.70
+0.48%
Nikkei 225
63,767.70
+2.68%

Investing

SIRIUS Cautious Praise At S&P (SIRI)

Photo of Douglas A. McIntyre
By Douglas A. McIntyre Updated Published
Follow 24/7 Wall St. on Google
This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them.

Invalid Image
SIRIUS XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) has been reaffirmed on its corporate debt rating at “B-” late in the day.  While this is still very deep in “junk bond” territory at S&P, the outlook has been revised to positive from stable.  This is after the earnings that we called mostly headed in the right direction last week, but it follows a relatively recent mid-August upgrade by S&P and it is fairly rare to see another call this fast on a controversial stock (and company) like Sirius.  Still, there are some mixed notions in the call as the rating is so far from investment grade status.

The call was based upon EBITDA generation and discretionary cash flow improving on operating synergies and integration cost savings.  The call also reflects prospects for continued improvement in operating performance and declining debt leverage.  While that is not a promise of a further upgrade, it leaves a hint or review for more ahead.

The rating does reflect a high debt leverage and its dependence on weak U.S. auto sales, and modest discretionary cash flow.  Its status as the only satellite radio player and ongoing synergies and cost savings are modest positives, but S&P’s Hal Diamond noted that those strengths do not offset the risks in its “B-” rating.

Sirius XM Radio has a total debt level as of September 30 of $3.4 billion.  Shares closed up 1.6% at $0.63 today, but on very light trading volume.

You can join our open email distribution list which goes out several times per week to be notified of key analyst calls, top early morning day trader alerts, along with news of IPO’s, key offerings, merger news, guru investor data on Buffett and others, mergers, and more.

JON C. OGG

Photo of Douglas A. McIntyre
About the Author Douglas A. McIntyre →

Douglas A. McIntyre is the co-founder, chief executive officer and editor in chief of 24/7 Wall St. and 24/7 Tempo. He has held these jobs since 2006.

McIntyre has written thousands of articles for 24/7 Wall St. He is an expert on corporate finance, the automotive industry, media companies and international finance. He has edited articles on national demographics, sports, personal income and travel.

His work has been quoted or mentioned in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, NBC News, Time, The New Yorker, HuffPost USA Today, Business Insider, Yahoo, AOL, MarketWatch, The Atlantic, Bloomberg, New York Post, Chicago Tribune, Forbes, The Guardian and many other major publications. McIntyre has been a guest on CNBC, the BBC and television and radio stations across the country.

A magna cum laude graduate of Harvard College, McIntyre also was president of The Harvard Advocate. Founded in 1866, the Advocate is the oldest college publication in the United States.

TheStreet.com, Comps.com and Edgar Online are some of the public companies for which McIntyre served on the board of directors. He was a Vicinity Corporation board member when the company was sold to Microsoft in 2002. He served on the audit committees of some of these companies.

McIntyre has been the CEO of FutureSource, a provider of trading terminals and news to commodities and futures traders. He was president of Switchboard, the online phone directory company. He served as chairman and CEO of On2 Technologies, the video compression company that provided video compression software for Adobe’s Flash. Google bought On2 in 2009.

Continue Reading

Douglas A. McIntyre |

Two (or Three) SIRIUS XM Upgrades in One Day (SIRI)

SIRIUS XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) is a very under-followed stock considering how the company has such a cult following,…

Douglas A. McIntyre |

SIRIUS XM Snags Yet Another Upgrade (SIRI)

SIRIUS XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) may have some risks for new Pandora web radio to the car and over…

Does a Merger With iHeartRadio Make Sirius Stock a Buy?
Rich Duprey |

Does a Merger With iHeartRadio Make Sirius Stock a Buy?

Reports that iHeartMedia (NASDAQ:IHRT) and Sirius XM Holdings (NASDAQ:SIRI | SIRI Price Prediction) are in early merger talks immediately sent…

Jon C. Ogg |

Another Credit Rating Hike for SIRIUS XM (SIRI, P)

Sirius XMSIRIUS XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) keeps getting credit rating upgrades.  This time it was S&P which upgraded SIRIUS XM…

Douglas A. McIntyre |

SIRIUS First Post-XM Merger Earnings On Deck (SIRI)

On Thursday morning, we’ll get our first real earnings conference call out of Sirius Satellite Radio, Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) on…

Douglas A. McIntyre |

Sirius XM Catches S&P Upgrade (SIRI)

Sirius XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) has caught a debt upgrade from Standard & Poor’s.  The cited reasons were that…

Douglas A. McIntyre |

Sirius (SIRI): The Market Dumps On Merger Forecasts

Sirius (SIRI) told the world how things would look at the company after its proposed merger with XM Satellite (XMSR).…

FuboTV Crashed 80% but This Could Be the Turnaround
Joel South |

FuboTV Crashed 80% but This Could Be the Turnaround

fuboTV Inc. (NYSE:FUBO) has been one of the most punishing trades of the past year. Shares have fallen nearly 74%…

Douglas A. McIntyre |

Karmazin Tries To Talk Up Sirius-XM on CNBC Interview (SIRI, XMSR)

Mel Karmazin of Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) came on CNBC this morning defending the combined Sirius-XM in an…

Top Gaining Stocks

Akamai
AKAM • Vol: 21,556,944
Micron Technology
MU • Vol: 65,135,624
Intel
INTC • Vol: 227,504,426
Monster Beverage
MNST • Vol: 15,284,847
Dell Technologies
DELL • Vol: 12,167,525

Top Losing Stocks

Mettler Toledo International
MTD • Vol: 539,266
Motorola Solutions
MSI • Vol: 3,101,643
Expedia
EXPE • Vol: 4,189,786
Coterra Energy
CTRA • Vol: 73,319,495
Fidelity National Information Services
FIS • Vol: 11,468,820