Dun & Bradstreet (NYSE:DNB) Research Coverage Started at StockNews.com

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Dun & Bradstreet (NYSE:DNB) in a research report released on Saturday. The firm issued a hold rating on the business services provider’s stock.

DNB has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $9.15 price target (down previously from $11.00) on shares of Dun & Bradstreet in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Dun & Bradstreet from $12.80 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 21st. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $14.00 price target on shares of Dun & Bradstreet in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $12.00 price objective on shares of Dun & Bradstreet in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $11.86.

Dun & Bradstreet Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DNB opened at $8.71 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. Dun & Bradstreet has a twelve month low of $7.78 and a twelve month high of $12.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -145.14, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.14. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $8.92 and its 200-day moving average is $10.86.

Dun & Bradstreet (NYSE:DNB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.32 by ($0.05). Dun & Bradstreet had a negative net margin of 1.20% and a positive return on equity of 11.29%. The firm had revenue of $631.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $658.04 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Dun & Bradstreet will post 0.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dun & Bradstreet Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were issued a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. Dun & Bradstreet’s dividend payout ratio is -333.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Dun & Bradstreet

In related news, Chairman William P. Foley II sold 2,500,000 shares of Dun & Bradstreet stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.99, for a total transaction of $22,475,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 8,109,644 shares in the company, valued at approximately $72,905,699.56. The trade was a 23.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 10.44% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Dun & Bradstreet

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Amundi boosted its stake in Dun & Bradstreet by 27.9% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 5,158 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 1,126 shares during the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Dun & Bradstreet during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $96,000. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of Dun & Bradstreet in the fourth quarter valued at $127,000. New World Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Dun & Bradstreet in the fourth quarter worth $143,000. Finally, Vest Financial LLC bought a new position in Dun & Bradstreet during the first quarter valued at $106,000. Institutional investors own 86.68% of the company’s stock.

Dun & Bradstreet Company Profile

Dun & Bradstreet Holdings, Inc engages in providing business decisioning data and analytics solutions. The firm is involved in providing information with its solutions to support its clients with critical business operations. It offers end-to-end solutions to clients in the small business, finance, sales & marketing, third party risk & compliance, and public sectors.