Dun & Bradstreet (NYSE:DNB) Shares Gap Down After Earnings Miss

Shares of Dun & Bradstreet Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:DNB) gapped down before the market opened on Thursday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $10.53, but opened at $9.89. Dun & Bradstreet shares last traded at $9.11, with a volume of 1,640,654 shares.

The business services provider reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by ($0.05). Dun & Bradstreet had a negative net margin of 1.46% and a positive return on equity of 11.50%.

Dun & Bradstreet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. Dun & Bradstreet’s dividend payout ratio is -250.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $12.00 price objective on shares of Dun & Bradstreet in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $17.00 price target on shares of Dun & Bradstreet in a report on Friday, November 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $13.13.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Dun & Bradstreet

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Amundi lifted its position in shares of Dun & Bradstreet by 27.9% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 5,158 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 1,126 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Dun & Bradstreet by 28.2% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,833 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 1,284 shares during the period. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in Dun & Bradstreet during the 4th quarter valued at about $96,000. KBC Group NV boosted its position in Dun & Bradstreet by 33.9% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 9,878 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $114,000 after buying an additional 2,499 shares during the period. Finally, Paloma Partners Management Co bought a new position in Dun & Bradstreet in the 3rd quarter worth about $117,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.68% of the company’s stock.

Dun & Bradstreet Trading Down 10.5 %

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $11.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $11.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.16 billion, a PE ratio of -116.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.14.

About Dun & Bradstreet

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.