D&B Jumps to Strong Buy - Analyst Blog
January 04 2013 - 3:40AM
Zacks
On January 3, Zacks Investment Research upgraded Dun
& Bradstreet Corp (DNB) to a Zacks #1 Rank (Strong
Buy).
Why the Upgrade?
The company reported upbeat third quarter 2012 results wherein
both top and bottom lines beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate.
Moreover, D&B delivered positive earnings surprises in 3 of the
last 4 quarters with an average earnings beat of 4.9%. The
long-term expected earnings growth rate for this stock is
12.9%.
D&B’s third quarter earnings per share of $1.76 was ahead of
the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.60 and increased 23.9% from the
year-ago quarter aided by lower costs and solid margin
expansion.
The company also reiterated its fiscal 2012 guidance of an
earnings growth of 8% to 11%.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate of $6.97 for fiscal 2012 indicates
that the reported earnings are expected to be in the high end of
the guidance range. Moreover, the Zacks Consensus Estimate
represents a 9% year-over-year increase in fourth quarter earnings
to $2.41 a share.
Going forward, D&B’s initiatives in the Data-as-a-Service
(DaaS) segment, which enables customers to use D&B's data
through their Customer Relationship Management platform, will be a
great positive. Partnerships with salesforce.com
(CRM), Microsoft (MSFT) and
Oracle (ORCL) in this segment are also expected
drive growth for D&B. The products that are expected to be in
focus include the MaxCV data platform and B2B trade portal. MaxCV
is expected to accelerate revenue growth and reduce expenses for
customers by improving data quality and timeliness, increasing the
speed of product innovation and significantly reducing technology
costs.
Other Stocks to Consider
The following companies in the sector also have favorable Zacks
Ranks and are therefore worth considering.
1) Arbitron Inc. (ARB) carries
a Zacks #2 Rank (Buy)
2) LifeLock, Inc. (LOCK) has a
Zacks #2 Rank (Buy)
SALESFORCE.COM (CRM): Free Stock Analysis Report
DUN &BRADST-NEW (DNB): Free Stock Analysis Report
MICROSOFT CORP (MSFT): Free Stock Analysis Report
ORACLE CORP (ORCL): Free Stock Analysis Report
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