ADT Inc. (NYSE:ADT) yesterday announced that it signed a definitive agreement with TELUS Corporation to sell the ADT Security Services Canada, Inc to the latter. The transaction value has been fixed at C$700 million, to be settled in cash upon closing.
Concurrently, ADT announced the authorization of a special dividend, the payment of which is conditioned upon the closing of the above-mentioned divestment.
Shares of ADT gained roughly 4.9% yesterday, closing the trading session at $6.39.
Inside the Headlines
As noted, the to-be-divested assets will include ADT’s entire assets and business in Canada. For the 12 months ended Dec 31, 2018, its Canada operations generated revenues of $229 million.
The company predicts recording non-cash charges related to this divestment in the third quarter of 2019. Further, it believes that these charges might impact its earnings in the quarter.
Additionally, ADT believes that the divestment will free resources (as Canada operations are highly capital intensive in nature) and help it concentrate on its core and more profitable businesses. The company capitalizes on prospects in commercial security, geographical expansion of home security businesses and smart home integration.
Subject to the fulfillment of closing conditions and receipt of regulatory approvals, ADT believes that the divestment will be completed in the fourth quarter of 2019.
About the special dividend, the company noted that its board of directors has authorized it as a one-time payment. Total dividend might add up to $550 million or 70 cents per share.
Inorganic Initiatives
We believe that the above-mentioned transaction is consistent with the company’s policy of strengthening portfolio through inorganic moves, including divestments and acquisitions.
In February 2019, ADT acquired LifeShield, LLC for roughly $25 million and since then, the buyout has added opportunities for ADT in the home security systems (wireless category) market.
Zacks Rank, Estimates and Price Performance
The company, with approximately $4.7-billion market capitalization, currently carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).
Also, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ADT’s earnings is pegged at 93 cents for 2019 and $1.01 for 2020, suggesting growth of 1.1% and a decline of 3.8% from the respective 60-day-ago figures.
ADT Inc. Price and Consensus
ADT Inc. price-consensus-chart | ADT Inc. Quote
In the past three months, the company’s share price has increased roughly 2.7% against the industry’s decline of 9.3%.
Stocks That Warrant a Look
Three better-ranked stocks in the industry are Brady Corporation (NYSE:BRC) , Lakeland Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:LAKE) and Halma plc HLMAF. All these stocks currently carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
In the past 60 days, earnings estimates for the current year have improved for Brady and Lakeland Industries while remained unchanged for Halma. Further, average positive earnings surprise in the last four quarters was 9.68% for Brady and 325.89% for Lakeland Industries.
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