Dun & Bradstreet (DNB) Q4 Earnings: What's in the Cards?

The Dun & Bradstreet Corporation (DNB) is set to release fourth-quarter 2016 earnings results on Feb. 8. In the last quarter, the company reported a positive earnings surprise of 2.29%. Notably, the company delivered positive earnings surprises in the last four quarters, with an average of 11.16%.

Moreover, we note that Dun & Bradstreet has outperformed the Zacks Business Information Service industry in the last one year. The company’s shares have increased 40.94% compared with the industry’s gain of 20.38% during the period.

Let’s see how things are shaping up for this announcement.

Factors at Play

Dun & Bradstreet is expected to benefit from its high-margin business model and strong product portfolio. DNB’s partnerships with big players have also helped it bring many more customers into the fold. Plus, DNB is also well-positioned to gain from its strategic acquisitions and alliances. The company’s focus on expanding analytics capabilities is another positive.

However, though DNB’s Americas business remains strong, the international business continues to be a drag on financials. A weak DNBi business and a high debt are the other areas of concerns. Plus, increasing competition from companies such as FactSet Research Systems Inc. FDS and Nielsen N.V. NLSN and a high debt level remain major concerns.

Dun & Bradstreet Corporation (The) Price and EPS Surprise

Dun & Bradstreet Corporation (The) Price and EPS Surprise | Dun & Bradstreet Corporation (The) Quote

Earnings Whispers

Our proven model does not conclusively show that Dun & Bradstreet is likely to beat earnings estimates this quarter. This is because a stock needs to have both a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) for this to happen. This is not the case here as you will see below:

Zacks ESP: Earnings ESP for Dun & Bradstreet is 0.00%. This is because both the Most Accurate estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate are pegged at earnings of $3.02 per share. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zacks Rank: Dun & Bradstreet’s Zacks Rank #3 increases the predictive power of ESP. However, we need to have a positive ESP to be confident about an earnings surprise.

We caution against stocks with a Zacks Rank #4 or 5 (Sell-rated) going into the earnings announcement, especially when the company is seeing negative estimate revisions.

A Stock to Consider

Here is a stock that, as per our model, has the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this quarter:

Twilio Inc. TWLO with an Earnings ESP of +8.33% and a Zacks Rank #3. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

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Dun & Bradstreet Corporation (The) (DNB): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
FactSet Research Systems Inc. (FDS): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Nielsen N.V. (NLSN): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Twilio Inc. (TWLO): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
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