FICO’s outlook is bright

Article Excerpt

FAIR ISAAC CORP. $57.71 (New York symbol FICO; TSINetwork Rating: Average) (415- 472-2211; www.fairisaac.com; Shares outstanding: 35.2 million; Market cap: $2.0 billion; Dividend yield: 0.1%) reports that its earnings per share before one-time items rose 16.7% in the three months ended September 30, 2013, to $0.98 from $0.84 a year ago. Revenue gained 2.3%, to $190.3 million from $186.1 million. That’s largely due to acquisitions, which contributed $23 million to the company’s revenue in the latest quarter. Due to the uncertain economy, Fair Isaac has had trouble closing deals with several North American banks. It aims to complete these sales in the next few months. The company continues to spend around 9% of its revenue on research. That lets it keep producing innovative products that help it stay ahead of the competition. For fiscal 2014, Fair Isaac expects to earn between $3.46 and $3.56 a share. The stock trades at 16.4 times the midpoint of that range. That’s reasonable for…