Analyst Sees Flat Year Ahead for Radio

Top broadcast stock picks for the coming year are Entravision and Lamar Advertising, while Cox Radio has been downgraded.
Those are among the recommendations from analyst Marci Ryvicker at Wachovia Capital Markets. She downgraded Cox to an “underperform” from a “market perform” rating, saying while the Cox fundamentals are in line with the radio sector, its stock is trading at overvalued premiums.
She also believes this will be another mediocre year for radio, estimating local revenue up 1% and national down 2%, for flat spot growth overall. Even with non-spot growth included, she thinks, radio’s revenue will only grow 1% this year.