Analysts at Evercore lowered estimates slightly for CBS Corp. full-year earnings for 2017 and 2018. Evercore analysts, led by Vijay Jayant, maintain an outperform rating and $75 12-month price target on CBS, but lowered 2017 earnings estimates to $4.44 from $4.47. Jayant also lowered 2018 estimates to $5.17 from $5.18. CBS shares, down nearly 9% in the last three months, have among the lowest valuation of the media sector, but at current levels, Jayant sees a buying opportunity heading into 2018. In his view, CBS is insulated from cord cutting, fears of which have continued to impact media companies’ stocks. “The company’s proprietary [over-the-top] services hedge against changes in pay-TV distribution,” Jayant wrote in a note to investors. “Further, we understand that CBS has been commanding better rates from most virtual [multichannel video programming distributor] platform operators compared with pricing within the traditional ecosystem.” Jayant also wrote that CBS’s underlying advertising fundamentals appears solid, despite recent ratings softness. Shares of CBS are down 8% in the year to date, while the S&P 500 index is up 13% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up more than 14%.
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