Alltel "outperform," target price raised

07/11/05 - Prudential Financial

NEW YORK, July 11 (newratings.com) - Analyst Frank G Louthan of Prudential Financial maintains his "outperform" rating on Alltel Corp (AT), while reducing his estimates for the company. The target price has been raised to $68.

In a research note published this morning, the analyst mentions that the company is likely to post robust 2Q05 results, with a significant rise in ARPUs. The robust growth in Alltel's wireless segment is expected to offset the company’s access line declines going forward. The EPS estimates for 2005 and 2006 have been reduced from $3.56 to $3.46 and from $4.05 to $4.01, respectively.