Dun & Bradstreet (NYSE:DNB) Earns Hold Rating from Analysts at StockNews.com

Investment analysts at StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Dun & Bradstreet (NYSE:DNB - Get Free Report) in a report issued on Tuesday. The firm set a "hold" rating on the business services provider's stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $9.15 target price (down from $11.00) on shares of Dun & Bradstreet in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Dun & Bradstreet from $12.80 to $11.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $12.00 price objective on shares of Dun & Bradstreet in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Dun & Bradstreet in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $11.86.

Dun & Bradstreet Stock Performance

Shares of Dun & Bradstreet stock traded up $0.01 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $8.99. 7,393,666 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,073,602. Dun & Bradstreet has a 1 year low of $7.78 and a 1 year high of $12.95. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $8.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.01 billion, a P/E ratio of -149.73, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.70.

Dun & Bradstreet (NYSE:DNB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The business services provider reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.01. Dun & Bradstreet had a negative net margin of 1.20% and a positive return on equity of 11.29%. The firm had revenue of $579.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $578.02 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.20 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Dun & Bradstreet will post 0.96 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Dun & Bradstreet news, Director Chinh Chu sold 10,885,403 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.95, for a total transaction of $97,424,356.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 23,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at $213,099.50. This represents a 99.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman William P. Foley II sold 2,500,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.99, for a total value of $22,475,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 8,109,644 shares of the company's stock, valued at $72,905,699.56. This represents a 23.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 15,885,403 shares of company stock valued at $142,299,357. Corporate insiders own 10.44% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Dun & Bradstreet

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in DNB. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Dun & Bradstreet by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 57,773,925 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $719,863,000 after acquiring an additional 1,275,959 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Dun & Bradstreet by 11.4% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 19,628,905 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $175,482,000 after purchasing an additional 2,006,587 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Dun & Bradstreet by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,575,015 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $156,685,000 after purchasing an additional 1,109,940 shares during the last quarter. Azora Capital LP boosted its holdings in shares of Dun & Bradstreet by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. Azora Capital LP now owns 9,213,826 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $114,804,000 after purchasing an additional 1,240,472 shares during the period. Finally, Crescent Grove Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Dun & Bradstreet by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC now owns 6,678,062 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $59,702,000 after purchasing an additional 498,558 shares during the last quarter. 86.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.