ATLANTIC TELE-NETWORK $72.81

ATLANTIC TELE-NETWORK $72.81 (Nasdaq symbol ATNI; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (340- 777-8000; www.atni.com; Shares outstanding: 16.1 million; Market cap: $1.2 billion; Dividend yield: 1.8%) owns wireless and wireline (traditional telephone and Internet) operations in the U.S. Southwest, New England, New York State, Bermuda, parts of the Caribbean, and Guyana. It also owns solar power plants that sell their electricity under long-term contracts. In the three months ended December 31, 2015, the company’s revenue fell 6.3%, to $82.9 million from $88.5 million a year earlier. The decline was mostly due to the sale of its Turks and Caicos business in early 2015. At the same time, Atlantic spent heavily on its network to support increased traffic. Earnings per share dropped 69.4%, to $0.22 from $0.72, on more shares outstanding. Atlantic holds a high cash balance of $392.0 million, or $24.35 a share. It has almost no debt. The company plans to use some of that cash to expand in renewable power, including more solar. That adds diversification, but entering more markets outside of its telecom expertise adds risk. Meanwhile, the stock trades at a high 24.0 times the $3.04 a share Atlantic is forecast to earn in 2016. Atlantic Tele-Network is a hold.