Wall St bullish on media company Belo - Barron's
NEW YORK, June 3 (Reuters) - Television stocks are the hottest in the media segment now and shares of Belo Corp. (BLC.N) could rise by 30 percent if it separates its broadcasting and newspaper divisions, a report in Barron's said on Sunday.
"TV stocks are back, partly because private-equity firms are paying top dollar for operators of stations that carry ... network programming," the weekly business newspaper wrote.
It said Wall Street was bullish for Belo, a Texas-based media company that owns 19 TV stations and four newspapers, including the Dallas Morning News.
Last week, Citigroup Global Markets analyst Eileen Furukawa raised her investment rating for Belo from "hold" to "buy" and boosted her share price target from $19 to $25, the Barron's report said. Belo stock closed on Friday at $22.22.
"Belo's shares ... could go as high as 30 if Belo is willing to separate its broadcasting and newspaper divisions," Barron's said.
But it said a stumbling block to a breakup might be the controlling family -- descendants of George Bannerman Dealey -- who have shown little enthusiasm for splitting the businesses.
