Why Windstream Holdings, Inc. Stock Jumped

Image source: Windstream.

What: Shares of communications and technology solutions company Windstream soared as much as 14% on Friday, but are up about 8% at the time of this writing. The jump in the stock price follows the company's fourth-quarter earnings release.

So what: The most likely reason for the rise on Friday was Windstream'shigher-than-expectedfourth-quarter profit. The company reported fourth-quarter EPS of $1.41, well above analyst estimates for the period for loss of 0.44. Notably, this also represents a considerable jump in EPS compared to a loss in the year-ago quarter of $0.80.

Windstream's revenue, however, didn't come in ahead of the consensus analyst estimate for the metric. Revenue was $1.43 billion -- about in line with expectations. Further, revenue for the quarter was down slightly from year-ago revenue of $1.44 billion.

Now what: Capital allocation will be a priority for the company in 2016.

"We are executing a focused strategy to stabilize and grow operating cash flow," said CEO Tony Thomas in its press release. "We also will continue to prudently manage our balance sheet and take a balanced approach to capital allocation that includes reducing debt, making capital investments that create incremental cash flows and returning capital to shareholders."

The article Why Windstream Holdings, Inc. Stock Jumped originally appeared on Fool.com.

Daniel Sparks has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.