Cost cuts should boost earnings

Article Excerpt

FAIR ISAAC CORP. $30 (New York symbol FICO; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 40.1 million; Market cap: $1.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.9; Dividend yield: 0.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.fairisaac.com) continues to see slow sales of its FICO software, which lets creditors use a customer’s information to calculate a credit score. That’s because high unemployment continues to hold back demand for new loans. In response, Fair Isaac will cut 9% of its workforce and combine certain facilities. These moves will cost it $0.18 a share. However, the resulting savings should raise its earnings per share by $0.30, to $1.87, in the fiscal year ending September 30, 2011. The stock trades at 16.0 times the new estimate. Fair Isaac is a hold. hold…