Bank Of America Likes iHeartMedia Given Its Exposure To A Large Audience

The bullish case for iHeartMedia Inc IHRT can be justified given its massive scale in the radio market that's twice the size of its closest competitor, according to Bank of America.

The Analyst

Bank of America analyst Jessica Reif Ehrlich initiated coverage of iHeartMedia with a Buy rating and $22 price target.

The Thesis

IHeartMedia is the largest operator of radio platforms with more than 850 live broadcast stations. The company has the necessary scale today to reach a broadcast radio listener market of 275 million per month, which Reif Ehrlich said is more than twice the size of its closest competitor. Despite a reputation as operating within "old media," the company still oversees a "large and stable" terrestrial ad business along with exposure to the digital space as its podcasts sees 165 million podcast downloads per month.

The company boasts an attractive business model after emerging from bankruptcy in early May 2019 and going public two months after. IHeartMedia now boasts a positive operating leverage and capex-light characteristics which should help in growing EBITDA by a 6.9 compounded annual growth rate through 2022.

The analyst said shareholders may also benefit from capital returns as the company also de-levers from 5.9 times net debt to EBITDA to 3.1 times within three years.

Price Action

Shares of iHeartMedia traded around $13.08 at time of publication.

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