Is Beasley Broadcast Group (NASDAQ:BBGI) A Risky Investment?
Some say volatility, rather than debt, is the best way to think about risk as an investor, but Warren Buffett famously said that 'Volatility is far from synonymous with risk. It's only natural to consider a company's balance sheet when you examine how risky it is, since debt is often involved when a business collapses. We can see that Beasley Broadcast Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBGI) does use debt in its business. But the real question is whether this debt is making the company risky.
When Is Debt A Problem?
Debt is a tool to help businesses grow, but if a business is incapable of paying off its lenders, then it exists at their mercy. Ultimately, if the company can't fulfill its legal obligations to repay debt, shareholders could walk away with nothing. However, a more common (but still painful) scenario is that it has to raise new equity capital at a low price, thus permanently diluting shareholders. Having said that, the most common situation is where a company manages its debt reasonably well - and to its own advantage. The first thing to do when considering how much debt a business uses is to look at its cash and debt together.
View our latest analysis for Beasley Broadcast Group
What Is Beasley Broadcast Group's Net Debt?
The image below, which you can click on for greater detail, shows that at June 2019 Beasley Broadcast Group had debt of US$237.2m, up from US$210.7m in one year. On the flip side, it has US$12.3m in cash leading to net debt of about US$225.0m.
How Healthy Is Beasley Broadcast Group's Balance Sheet?
We can see from the most recent balance sheet that Beasley Broadcast Group had liabilities of US$36.6m falling due within a year, and liabilities of US$408.1m due beyond that. Offsetting these obligations, it had cash of US$12.3m as well as receivables valued at US$47.5m due within 12 months. So its liabilities outweigh the sum of its cash and (near-term) receivables by US$384.9m.
The deficiency here weighs heavily on the US$81.7m company itself, as if a child were struggling under the weight of an enormous back-pack full of books, his sports gear, and a trumpet." So we definitely think shareholders need to watch this one closely. After all, Beasley Broadcast Group would likely require a major re-capitalisation if it had to pay its creditors today.
We use two main ratios to inform us about debt levels relative to earnings. The first is net debt divided by earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA), while the second is how many times its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) covers its interest expense (or its interest cover, for short). This way, we consider both the absolute quantum of the debt, as well as the interest rates paid on it.
Weak interest cover of 2.1 times and a disturbingly high net debt to EBITDA ratio of 5.0 hit our confidence in Beasley Broadcast Group like a one-two punch to the gut. This means we'd consider it to have a heavy debt load. Fortunately, Beasley Broadcast Group grew its EBIT by 6.2% in the last year, slowly shrinking its debt relative to earnings. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. But it is future earnings, more than anything, that will determine Beasley Broadcast Group's ability to maintain a healthy balance sheet going forward. So if you're focused on the future you can check out this free report showing analyst profit forecasts.
Finally, a business needs free cash flow to pay off debt; accounting profits just don't cut it. So we always check how much of that EBIT is translated into free cash flow. During the last three years, Beasley Broadcast Group produced sturdy free cash flow equating to 55% of its EBIT, about what we'd expect. This free cash flow puts the company in a good position to pay down debt, when appropriate.
Our View
On the face of it, Beasley Broadcast Group's interest cover left us tentative about the stock, and its level of total liabilities was no more enticing than the one empty restaurant on the busiest night of the year. But on the bright side, its conversion of EBIT to free cash flow is a good sign, and makes us more optimistic. Overall, it seems to us that Beasley Broadcast Group's balance sheet is really quite a risk to the business. For this reason we're pretty cautious about the stock, and we think shareholders should keep a close eye on its liquidity. Given our hesitation about the stock, it would be good to know if Beasley Broadcast Group insiders have sold any shares recently. You click here to find out if insiders have sold recently.
At the end of the day, it's often better to focus on companies that are free from net debt. You can access our special list of such companies (all with a track record of profit growth). It's free.
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If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
