BROADRIDGE FINANCIAL SOLUTIONS $39.39 (New York symbol BR; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (201-714-3000; www.broadridge.com; Shares outstanding: 119.5 million; Market cap: $4.7 billion; Dividend yield: 2.7%) serves the investment industry in three main areas: investor communications, securities processing and transaction clearing. The company processes 90% of all proxy votes in the U.S. and Canada.
Without one-time items, Broadridge earned $114.6 million, or $1.16 a share, in its fiscal 2014 fourth quarter, which ended June 30, 2014. That’s up 1.5% from $142.4 million, or $1.15 a share, a year earlier.
Overall revenue gained 2.4%, to $885.9 million from $865.1 million. Revenue from contracts that pay recurring fees rose 7% and accounted for two-thirds of the total. The remaining third comes from one-time events, such as notifications of special shareholder meetings and distributing information when mutual funds change managers.
Excluding unusual items, Broadridge now expects to earn $2.42 to $2.52 a share in fiscal 2015. The stock trades at a reasonable 15.9 times the midpoint of that range.
The company’s long-term debt of $524.1 million is a low 11.1% of its market cap, and it holds cash of $347.6 million, or $2.88 a share. The stock yields 2.7%.
Broadridge is a buy.