Moody's
New York symbol MCO, provides independent credit ratings and other information on bonds and other securities. It also provides credit assessment services to banks and other lenders.
In September 2000, the old Dun & Bradstreet split into two new companies: Moody’s and the new Dun & Bradstreet. Since then, Moody’s is up 149.2%, and Dun & Bradstreet has gained 247.5%. We feel both still have plenty of growth ahead.
MOODY’S CORP. $32 (New York symbol MCO; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 222.0 million; Market cap: $7.1 …read more »
Right now, the U.S. credit-rating industry is dominated by three firms: Standard & Poor’s (which is owned by McGraw-Hill, below), Moody’s and Fitch. However, Standard & Poor’s recent downgrade of U.S. Treasury bonds has drawn new attention to the entire industry. This increased scrutiny makes it more likely that regulators will open up the industry to more competition. Regulators could …read more »
MOODY’S CORP. $30 (New York symbol MCO; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 234.2 million; Market cap: $7.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.5; Dividend yield: 1.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.moodys.com) provides independent credit ratings and other information on bonds and other securities. Credit ratings account for 70% of Moody’s revenue. It gets the remaining 30% from selling credit-assessment software to …read more »
New regulations in the wake of the financial crisis will push up costs for these three leading credit-rating providers. However, they face little competition, and they continue to benefit from falling computer costs and the shift to electronic document delivery. These savings are also letting them raise their dividends.
MCGRAW-HILL COMPANIES INC. $38 (New York symbol MHP; Conservative Growth Portfolio, …read more »
C.R. BARD INC. $91 (www.crbard.com) aims to improve its efficiency by closing plants and cutting jobs. These moves will cost the medical-device maker $20 million. To put this in context, Bard earned $135.9 million, or $1.43 a share, in its latest quarter. As well, the company plans to borrow $750 million and use the cash to buy back shares. That’s …read more »
MOODY’S CORP. $22 (New York symbol MCO; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 239.8 million; Market cap: $5.3 billion; WSSF Rating: Average) provides independent credit ratings and other information on bonds and other securities. It also provides credit assessment services to banks and other lenders.
Credit ratings account for 80% of Moody’s revenues. That’s makes it vulnerable to the slowing …read more »
These two companies provide detailed information to investors that help them make better decisions. Both stocks have dropped sharply in the past few months, partly due to fears that new government regulations could drive up their costs.
Despite the problems in the credit markets, we still like their long-term outlook. Both are controlling costs, and diversifying into new areas. They also …read more »
SYMANTEC CORP. $14 (Nasdaq symbol SYMC; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 839.1 million; Market cap: $11.7 billion; WSSF Rating: Average) has agreed to acquire UK-based MessageLabs for $695 million in cash. MessageLabs offers online software that helps users protect their email and instant messaging services from spam and junk emails. Symantec plans to use MessageLab’s technology …read more »
THE DUN & BRADSTREET CORP. $83 (New York symbol DNB; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 56.6 million; Market cap: $4.7 billion; WSSF Rating: Average) focuses on credit reports for individual companies, not bonds or asset-backed securities, so it’s less exposed to the problems in the mortgage industry than Moody’s or Standard & Poor’s.
Dun & Bradstreet’s reports cover over …read more »
MOODY’S CORP. $37 (New York symbol MCO; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 246.4 million; Market cap: $9.1 billion; WSSF Rating: Average) provides independent credit ratings and other information on bonds and other securities. The company also provides credit assessment services and software to banks and other lenders. Moody’s gets 40% of its revenue from outside the United States.
Moody’s …read more »
