Market dominance cuts Broadridge’s risk

Article Excerpt

BROADRIDGE FINANCIAL SOLUTIONS INC. $54 (New York symbol BR; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 118.6 million; Market cap: $6.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.3; Dividend yield: 2.2%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.broadridge.com) 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. Broadridge was a subsidiary of Automatic Data Processing until April 2007, when ADP spun it off as a separate firm. Acquisitions drive profits higher Revenue rose 24.3%, from $2.2 billion in 2011 to $2.7 billion in 2015 (fiscal years end June 30). Acquisition costs and writedowns cut Broadridge’s earnings by 26.9%, from $1.34 a share (or a total of $171.8 million) in 2011 to $0.98 a share (or $125.0 million) in 2012. Earnings improved to $1.69 a share (or $212.1 million) in 2013 and $2.32 a share (or $287.1 million) in 2015. If you exclude unusual items, earnings per share…