Whether or not the concept of "buy what you know" is all it's cracked up to be is a topic that I'll tackle soon.
But not today. What I can say, though, is that if I had bought what I knew and purchased shares of FactSetResearch (NYSE:FDS) the day I left my Wall Street gig, I'd be sitting with a nice fat double. If I'd bought the shares when I first became personally acquainted with the wonders of FactSet, the gain would be more on the order of a 12-bagger. Isn't reminiscence fun?
In my view, that gain in market value has been well-earned and the company continues to perform well. For its fiscal fourth quarter, sales grew over 22% as the company added more clients, more users, and more subscriptions. Profitability also improved, as operating income climbed 24% and net income rose 27%.
Not only is profitability still on the upward path, but so is cash flow generation. Although operating cash flow climbed just 14% for the full year, free cash flow was up 62%. Structural free cash flow, which ignores the benefits and detriments of changes to working capital, doubled as well.
I happen to think there's still ample room for FactSet to grow. As much as FactSet has grown to this point, it still looks like a minnow next to the likes of Bloomberg, Thomson (NYSE:TOC), Reuters (NASDAQ:RTRSY), or McGraw-Hill's Standard & Poor's (NYSE:MHP). Not only is there the opportunity to sign up more subscribers and expand the suite of products and services even further, but there are also overseas opportunities in areas like Asia that are largely untapped.
Although it's not a cheap stock, I don't think FactSet is really overpriced either. The company generates good free cash flow (and trades at a multiple roughly 22 times that cash flow), a solid return on equity, and a bit of a dividend. Much as I like bargains, I also realize that you shouldn't be all that surprised when you see the stock of a solid company carry a valuation that reflects both quality and growth expectations.
For more Foolish fact sets, check these out:
- Why Free Cash Flow Matters
- Good Morningstar.com
- Consistency Yields Growth for FactSet
- Soft Dollars, But Rock-Solid Profits
Fool contributor Stephen Simpson has no financial interest in any stocks mentioned (that means he's neither long nor short the shares).
