Upcoming AWS Coverage on The Dun & Bradstreet Corp. Post-Earnings Results

LONDON, UK / ACCESSWIRE / December 28, 2016 / Active Wall St. announces its post-earnings coverage on FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE: FDS) ("FactSet"). The Company released its first quarter fiscal 2017 financial results on December 21, 2016. The financial data firm's earnings outperformed market expectations, while sales came in slightly below forecasts. Register with us now for your free membership at: http://www.activewallst.com/register/.

One of FactSet Research Systems' competitors within the Information & Delivery Services space, The Dun & Bradstreet Corp. (NYSE: DNB), reported results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2016 in early November 2016. AWS will be initiating a research report on Dun & Bradstreet in the coming days.

Today, AWS is promoting its earnings coverage on FDS; touching on DNB. Get our free coverage by signing up to:

http://www.activewallst.com/registration-3/?symbol=FDS

http://www.activewallst.com/registration-3/?symbol=DNB

Earnings Reviewed

For the three months ended on November 30, 2016, FactSet reported revenue of $288.1 million, up 6.5% from the year-ago same quarter. The numbers narrowly missed analysts' forecasts of $289.3 million. Moreover, reported revenues were toward the lower-end of the Company's own projection range of $286 million to $292 million.

During Q1 FY17, FactSet's operating income rose to $90.3 million compared to $87.3 million in the prior year's same period. The Company's net income was $66.6 million in the reported quarter versus $60.0 million in the year ago first quarter. Diluted earnings per share were $1.66 compared to $1.43 in Q1 FY16. On an adjusted basis, the Company reported earnings of $1.75 per share, up 18.2% and surpassed Wall Street's expectations of $1.70 per share as well as the guided range of 1.68 to $1.72 per share.

Annual Subscription Grows

FactSet's Annual Subscription Value (ASV), which represents the forward-looking revenues for the next 12 months from all services currently being supplied to clients, was $1.17 billion at November 30, 2016, up 7.9% organically from the prior year. Organic ASV, which excludes the effects of acquisitions, dispositions and foreign currency, increased $7.9 million over the last three months.

FactSet's buy-side and sell-side ASV growth rates for Q1 FY17 were 8.3% and 6.3%, respectively. Buy-side clients accounted for 83.0% of ASV while the remainder was derived from sell-side clients. In the reported quarter, ASV from US operations was $765.3 million, increasing 7.1% organically over the prior year. ASV from international operations grew 9.3% organically to $405.1 million.

Acquisitions Update

In Q1 FY17, FactSet completed the acquisitions of Vermilion Software Limited ("Vermilion") and CYMBA Technologies Limited ("CYMBA"), for cash consideration of $67 million and $8 million, respectively. Client count as of November 30, 2016, was 3,116, a net increase of 24 clients in the reported quarter, driven by client additions from the Vermilion and CYMBA acquisitions. The Vermilion and CYMBA acquisitions added $15 million in acquired ASV during the quarter.

For Q1 FY17, FactSet's user count grew 1,308 to 66,963. Annual client retention was greater than 95% of ASV. When expressed as a percentage of clients, annual retention was 93%. Employee count was 8,713 at November 30, 2016, up 780 people in the past 12 months. Excluding the acquired Vermilion and CYMBA's workforces and employees of the sold Market Metrics business, headcount increased 10.7% from a year ago.

FactSet Operational Realignment

Effective September 01, 2016, FactSet realigned certain aspects of its global operations from FactSet Research Systems Inc., its US parent company, to FactSet UK Limited, a UK operating company, to better position the Company to serve its growing client base outside the US. This realignment allows the Company to further implement strategic corporate objectives and helps achieve operational and financial efficiencies, while complementing FactSet's increasing global growth and reach. As a result of the realignment, the Company's effective tax rate declined from 28.3% in Q4 FY16 to 25.9% in Q1 FY17.

Balance Sheet

Following the closing of the Vermilion's acquisition, FactSet had $365 million in total debt under its amended revolving credit facility with Bank of America at an interest rate of one-month LIBOR plus 0.75%. The credit facility has a three-year term and may be expanded up to a total of $400 million. Vermilion and CYMBA's operations did not have an impact on FactSet's Q1 FY17 adjusted diluted earnings per share. For Q2 FY17, these two acquisitions combined are expected to reduce adjusted diluted EPS by $0.01 and reduce GAAP diluted EPS by $0.02. FactSet forecasts that the acquisitions will be breakeven to both adjusted and GAAP diluted EPS by Q4 FY17.

During Q1 FY17, Capital expenditures were $12.5 million primarily related to the build out of office space and purchases of computer-related equipment. On July 01, 2016 FactSet entered into an accelerated share repurchase agreement (the "ASR Agreement") to repurchase $120.0 million of FactSet common stock. The final settlement of the ASR Agreement occurred in Q1 FY17. The Company repurchased 698,523 shares of its common stock under the ASR Agreement.

In addition, FactSet repurchased 505,000 shares for $79.3 million during Q1 FY17under the Company's existing share-repurchase program. As of November 30, 2016, $117.7 million remained authorized for further repurchases. Over the last 12 months, $473.4 million has been returned to stockholders in the form of share repurchases and dividends, funded by cash generated from operations and the sale of the Market Metrics business.

Outlook

For Q2 FY17, FactSet is expecting revenue in the range of $293 million and $298 million. GAAP operating margin is expected to range between 31% and 32%. For the upcoming quarter, FactSet is forecasting GAAP diluted EPS to be in the band of $1.70 and $1.74 per share. Adjusted EPS is expected to range between $1.78 and $1.82 per share.

Stock Performance

On Tuesday, December 27, 2016, the stock closed the trading session at $165.06, rising 1.13% from its previous closing price of $163.21. A total volume of 231.02 thousand shares have exchanged hands. FactSet Research Systems' stock price advanced 2.90% in the last month, 8.52% in the past six months, and 3.54% in the previous twelve months. Furthermore, since the start of the year, shares of the company have gained 2.76%. The stock is trading at a PE ratio of 19.51 and has a dividend yield of 1.21%.

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