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Forbes expert rings up America Movil (AMX)

"Based in Mexico, América Móvil (NYSE: AMX) is the largest wireless service provider in Latin America," notes wireless sector expert Nikhil Hutheesing.

The editor of The Forbes Wireless Stock Watch notes that the company's largest stakeholder is billionaire Carlos Slim who holds a 30% stake. Here's the advisors's bullish assessment for the company.

"AMX, which was spun out of Mexico's Telmex in 2000, operates out of Mexico City, but only about 30% of its business is actually in Mexico. It has has been growing rapidly mostly by acquiring troubled Latin American operators that took on too much debt during the telecom bubble.

"Móvil then consolidates operations, changes management as necessary, and makes operations more efficient and profitable.

"With 3G networks in place, América Móvil will be able to boost revenue and profit by selling more data services. It's already offering 3G service in Mexico and plans to spend another $4 billion to upgrade its wireless networks to 3G in five or so more countries this year.

"Once that happens, the carrier will sell a wide range of data-such as music and video services as well as Internet connectivity. Its investment in 3G technology is very similar to the investments made by US carriers such as AT&T and Verizon in the past.

"While the initial impact of the investment may hurt the bottom line today, it will be more than offset as data revenues rise. That should begin to happen by the end of this year.

"Overall, this is a well-run company. América Móvil, which grew through acquisitions, turned itself into a highly formidable competitor against bigger incumbents such as Telefonica.

"Last year, the company reported revenues of 312 billion pesos (about $29.6 billion)-up 28.2% from 2006. América Móvil generated a net profit of 58.6 billion pesos (about $5.5 billion), exceeding the previous year's net profit by 31.9%.

"The shares look very attractive, fundamentally. The stock trades at a p/e ratio of 18 and just 13 times expected 2009 earnings, yet the company's profits are expected to grow 25% this year. América Móvil has also been buying back stock recently and recently announced it would be buying back more.

"I think it's reasonable to expect that the company's stock price will return to trading at historical levels. Over the past ten years, AMX has had an average p/e of 25, compared to 18 today. If you value the company at 25 times my earnings estimate for this year of $3.83 per share, you get a target of $95."

Each day, Steven Halpern's TheStockAdvisors.com offers the latest market commentary and favorite investment ideas from the nation's leading financial newsletter advisors.

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Last updated: October 11, 2008: 10:50 AM

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