Cellcom Israel: On an Upward Trend

Cellcom Israel, Ltd. (CEL) is blazing a path to increased profitability with additional investments in its infrastructure and the acquisition of new customers. These efforts showed-up in the company's first-quarter results, with revenue up more than 10% and income up over 30%. Analysts continue to raise estimates, with the current-year estimate being upgraded in just the last 30 days.

Cellcom Israel, Ltd. provides cellular telephone services in Israel. The company is the #1 (by market share) cellular provider in Israel, was founded in 1994, carries a market cap. of $3.25 billion and is headquartered in Netanya, Israel.

Another Great Quarter

As the number one cellular provider in Israel, Cellcom has distinguished itself from its competition by posting impressive revenue and income growth. This trend was apparent when the company reported strong first-quarter earnings on May 14.

Revenue for the quarter was up 10.9% to $449 million. Net income was up nicely, jumping 31.3% to $79.43 million. This produced earnings of 78 cents per share, easily outpacing the consensus estimate of 56 cents.

This marks the fourth time in four quarters that Cellcom has surprised and beaten analyst estimates, having done so by an average of 15 cents, or 32.03%.

Estimates Are Up

After the great quarter, the analyst community boosted its estimates. Within just the last 30 days, the current-year estimate has tacked on 20 cents, advancing to its current projection of $2.70 per share.

Based upon these earnings projections, this stock actually looks priced at a discount compared to the overall market, carrying a forward P/E multiple of just over 12X.

An Upward Trend

This stock has exhibited a fair amount of volatility over the last few months, but the macro-level trend has been upward, supported by a trend-line that has been in play since October of last year. Within the last month, a new 52-week and all-time high have been established, but shares were unable to hold these gains and have since retreated to take a breather. Moving forward, the key to the formation is the 52-week high. This stock should eventually find a stabilization point from which it can rebound and once again accelerate. Take a look at the chart below.