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Morningstar

  • Dividend Yield and Undervaluation Makes Thomson Reuters a Strong Buy

    By Mark Lin - March 22, 2013 | Tickers: FDS, MORN, TRI

    Thomson Reuters (NYSE: TRI) currently sports an attractive dividend yield of 4% and it has increased dividends for every single year for the past 20 years. In addition, Thomson Reuters boasts of a disciplined capital allocation policy, having returned more than $9 billion to shareholders in the form of dividends and share buybacks since 2001. Its EV/EBITDA valuations should be closer to that of peers, notwithstanding higher leverage and more »

  • The Outlook for Information Services Providers

    By Lee Samaha - March 21, 2013 | Tickers: RATE, FDS, MORN, MSCI, TRI

    The ghost of the financial crisis lingers on, and no more so than in the banking sector. It’s not only that financial services firms are reluctant to invest, having barely survived the crisis, but they are also faced with regulatory threats. In this kind of environment it is no wonder that information providers like FactSet Research Systems (NYSE: FDS) are not seeing the kind of pickup in demand that more »

  • Kroll Credit Ratings: Old School Values, Modern Methods, New Paradigms

    By Nick Slepko - February 19, 2013 | Tickers: C, MHFI, MCO, MORN

    In only two years, Kroll Bond Rating Agency, in metric after metric, has been surpassing one credit ratings agency after another.  Founded by corporate intelligence legend Jules Kroll, the firm set out to “establish new standards for assessing risk and offering accurate, clear and transparent ratings,” and picked up where of Moody’s, (NYSE: MCO), S&P (NYSE: MHFI), and Fitch had seem to have given up.  Industry veteran Jim more »

  • Why the Market Might Be Wrong over This Company's Results

    By Lee Samaha - December 18, 2012 | Tickers: RATE, FDS, MHFI, MORN, TRI

    It’s always interesting when a company that you monitor gives disappointing results, because it can create a decent buying opportunity. In this case it’s time to take a look at financial information services company FactSet Research Systems (NYSE: FDS) whose results were greeted with an immediate markdown. So is it time to buy?

    FactSet Research’s Q1 Results

    A quick summary of the results and guidance:

  • Activist Investor: Moody’s is in the ‘Fifth Inning’ of a Nine-Inning Game

    By Meena Krishnamsetty - November 13, 2012 | Tickers: EFX, MCO, MORN, DNB, TRI

    At the 2012 Invest for Kids conference, Jeff Ubben of ValueAct Capital made two financial stock recommendations, with one being the credit rating company Moody’s (NYSE: MCO). Ubben really likes Moody's business model, saying about the business: "What a model this is...Moody's monitoring fees they get paid to monitor debt, like the maintenance fees for a software company, are almost 60% of the company." Ubben founded more »

  • Is This Investment Research Giant a Good Buy?

    By Meena Krishnamsetty - September 28, 2012 | Tickers: MHFI, MCO, MORN, TST, TRI

    As one of the world’s most reliable providers of investment analysis covering everything from equities to mutual funds, Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ: MORN) is truly a finance geek’s best friend. The company, originally conceived by Chicagoan Joe Mansueto with a mere $80,000 in starting capital, has grown into a multi-billion dollar behemoth since its inception in 1984.

    Over the past two and a half decades, Morningstar has introduced more »

  • A Fast Growing Financial Services Firm

    By Lee Samaha - September 28, 2012 | Tickers: RATE, FDS, MORN

    FactSet Research Systems (NYSE: FDS) gave earnings which were met with an immediate markdown. For some reason the stock seems to usually invoke great drama after it gives results, but the latest numbers and guidance were pretty much in line. I like the company and think it has some attractive defensive properties which make it a good stock to hold in a balanced portfolio.

     

    FactSet Results

    At the previous set more »

  • What Happened to Value Line?

    By William Bias - August 4, 2012 | Tickers: MORN, VALU

    I have been researching the stock market since the summer of 1991 when I bought 5 shares of my first employer Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc. Since then I have been hooked by the stock market bug. I also realized early on that a person can’t make an informed decision on share purchases without doing a certain amount of research. In the pre-internet era there were fewer ways for an individual to do in depth research. For example, you could order printed annual reports and SEC documents from a company’s investor relations department by phone or snail mail or you could consult the local library’s Value Line (NASDAQ: VALU) Investment Survey to analyze profitability and cash flow figures of a particular company of interest. Even to this day I occasionally enjoy going to the local library to peruse their pages for investment ideas, however in the age of the Internet the business model of printing a large tome of stock market data is becoming increasingly outdated when investors can research endless amounts of data for free and in the comforts of their own home.

  • Dividend Increases Aren't Enough For This Company

    By Chad Henage - July 5, 2012 | Tickers: MHFI, MORN, PSO, TRI

    There might not be a more recognized name in the stock market than S&P. In fact, many thousands of mutual funds rate their performance based on the S&P 500. In addition, S&P ratings can either increase or decrease the borrowing costs of many companies by millions or even billions of dollars. The power of this brand is wielded by The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHFI). I only mention the S&P division first, because when most people see McGraw-Hill they think what I first thought, which was textbooks. The other main claim to fame that McGraw-Hill has is over 25 straight years of dividend increases. If we have learned anything over the last few years, it's that dividend streaks are not set in stone. So there are two questions that naturally need to be answered. First, can the company afford their current dividend, and what type of dividend growth should investors expect in the future?

  • An Overlooked Defensive Financial Stock?

    By Lee Samaha - June 20, 2012 | Tickers: RATE, FDS, MHFI, MORN, TRI

    As the market grapples with the consequences of the Greek election, I thought it would be interesting to look at a stock which could give balance to a portfolio. In its own odd way, FactSet Research Systems Inc (NYSE: FDS) has a combination of defensive characteristics and cyclical growth prospects.  Unfortunately, given that its main activity is providing financial information, the stock is well known to the investment community, so more »

  • Morningstar vs Thomson Reuters – Scorecard

    By Chad Henage - March 12, 2012 | Tickers: MORN, TRI

    Two excellent financial news sources I use all the time are Morningstar (NASDAQ: MORN) and Thompson Reuters (NYSE: TRI). If you look at headlines for most companies on major financial sites, you'll see something by one of these two firms. Morningstar is more well known for their rating system, and Thompson Reuters is more well known for general news. This is a prime case of something I use almost daily, and I've never researched either company as an investment opportunity. We'll compare the two companies and see which one (if either) seems like a good buy. 

  • Just the Facts, Ma'am

    By Shawn Robinson - March 12, 2012 | Tickers: FDS, MORN

    Back in January of this year, I wrote an article here on the Motley Fool Blog Network titled, “One Simple Screen for Bargain Stocks,” where I attempted to find stocks that have recently underperformed relative to the S&P 500, but could be a bargain given managements' past performance in allocating capital. One stock that appeared on my screen was FactSet Research Systems (NYSE: FDS), which leverages large databases of more »

  • Low-Debt Stocks for a Safer Portfolio

    By Michael French - January 26, 2012 | Tickers: BKI, FAST, JBL, MORN, SHS

    Although 2012 has started with a bang on Wall Street, some investors need to add more stable investments to balance out some of the fast-movers they have purchased. Deciding on a solid investment is more than picking a stock with a cheap price or one that pays a dividend. Stocks from businesses with little or no debt provide an appealing option since they indicate companies that are not going to more »

  • The Envelope Please. And the Winner is...

    By Kyle Metivier - January 4, 2012 | Tickers: COST, MORN

    The awards season is upon us. Sure, the Academy Awards are entertaining. But seriously, when is the last time you can honestly say you loved the film that won Best Picture? The Golden Globe and People’s Choice Award shows are basically avenues for some of those that felt “snubbed” so they get a piece of hardware that ultimately becomes nothing more than a doorstop or a paperweight. Behold. The more »

  • 5 Fastest Dividend Growth Stocks December 2011

    By DividendYields - December 20, 2011 | Tickers: DFS, EQR, MORN, SLG, VLGEA, DIS

    The dividend growth is often a good indicator for the financial health of a stock. Companies with a strong increase in dividends judge the future of their company rosy. They give money back to shareholders that they don’t need for their business. Here is a current sheet of companies with fastest dividend growth compared to the previous dividend declaration. In total, 57 stocks increased dividends of which 28 raised more »