CoreLogic, Inc.
(
CLGX
) surprised by 8.3% in the second quarter, thanks to its continued
cost containment and productivity initiatives, along with its
aggressive share buyback activities. With five straight quarters of
positive earnings surprises and an estimated long-term earnings
upside of 20.4%, this Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) information,
analytics and business services provider looks like a solid growth
pick.
Good Second Quarter
On July 23, 2012, CoreLogic reported second quarter net earnings of
39 cents, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 36 cents. Results
were up nearly ten fold from 4 cents in the prior-year quarter.
Revenue totaled $389.4 million, up nearly 19% year over year. The
improvement came on the back of double-digit increases across all
segments.
Increased revenues, cost reductions and productivity initiatives
helped operating income soar 258.7% year over year to $67.6
million.
During the quarter, the Board of Directors doubled CLGX's share
repurchase authorization to 10 million shares for 2012.
Positive Earnings Estimate Revisions
For 2012, the Zacks Consensus Estimate is currently pegged at
$1.29, up nearly 5.7% over the last 30 days as three of five
estimates were revised upward. This also suggests a year-over-year
increase of 41.3%.
For 2013, the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.43 improved 13.5% as
all five estimates moved upward. The current estimate represents a
year-over-year increase of 10.9%.
Stretched Valuation
Shares of CoreLogic are roughly trading at 18.7x the earnings
estimate for 2012, a premium of 46.7% to the peer group average of
12.8x. On a price-to-book (P/B) basis, shares are trading at 2.0x,
a premium of 11.3% to the peer group average of 1.8x. The PEG ratio
is 0.92 times, marginally below the benchmark of 1 for a fairly
priced stock.
CoreLogic has a trailing 12-month ROE of 8.9%, lower than the peer
group average of 10.0%.
The price and consensus chart below shows that the earnings
estimate lines for 2012 and 2013 are above the stock price,
indicating that CoreLogic is undervalued.
Incorporated in 1894 and headquartered in Santa Ana, California,
CoreLogic provides property, financial and consumer information,
analytics, and services in the US. With a network of approximately
5,511 employees, the company offers these services to mortgage
originators and servicers, financial institutions, government and
government-sponsored enterprises, and other businesses.
With a market capitalization of $2.54 billion, CoreLogic competes
with Lender Processing Services Inc. (
LPS
).
CORELOGIC INC (CLGX): Free Stock Analysis
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