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Cineplex IncCGX.TOCOMMENTJun 16, 2017Stock price when the opinion was issued
As of Jun 19, 2026. Market Open.
Revenue growth is coming back a bit, with lower comparables from last year helping the year-over-year figures. Its debt levels are high, with net debt of $1.9B, and a net debt/EBITDA of 6.8X. Interest costs are $137M (last 12 months) and these will likely rise a bit with higher rates. 12-month cash flow was $116M and therein lies the problem. The debt is mostly due in the next five years. With attendance back, and a decent film slate, bankruptcy is becoming less of a concern, but it is still hard to paint a really positive picture here because of the leverage.
It is somewhat cheap (0.4X forward sales), but also has a fairly high forward P/E of 20.2X. It could become a takeover target, however, we would not place a high level of probability on that at these current levels.
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Cineplex remains a recovery story, and its beta of 2.88 signals more risk than usual. It rose 10% in Q1, but the chart was choppy. So, consider Cineplex a partial buy. After all, Covid didn’t kill cinema-going, as some expected, but deferred it. We still love the big screen. Read Dark horses: Nuvei, Cineplex, Boralex for our full analysis.
This had a very solid top line growth in Q1, and he raised his outlook for a better box office in 2017. He sees really nice growth in Digital media and gaming and sees 23% EPS. Trading below its five-year average. However, at 30X earnings, it is still pretty pricey, and vulnerable to a bit of a hiccup. A lot of growth is tied to a successful rollout of their rec room. If they hook up on that, then it is a little pricey, but all in, a name that is probably good here. You could probably sell some Puts, oblige yourself to own it at around $48, get paid a little bit.