J.P. Morgan Maintains Dun & Bradstreet Neutral Rating (DNB)

J.P. Morgan maintained its Dun & Bradstreet DNB Neutral rating in a research report published today. J.P. Morgan has previously given Dun & Bradstreet a $78 price target. In the report, J.P. Morgan states, "Revenues (up ~3% ex forex and M&A) were in-line while profits (-1%) were light of our +3% estimate due partly to higher-than-expected Tech investments on the P&L. EPS was $1.74 (incl. ~$0.18 Tech investment) v. JPM's $1.88 estimate. N. America revs. rose 2% (with Risk +1%) while International lifted ~5% organic. Deferred revs. were up 7% y-o-y at year-end v. +8% at the end of Q3. 2011 guidance looks in-line—with revs. The stock has performed well lately. Valuation is intriguing at ~13 times 2012E EPS, and D&B appears to have some top-line momentum heading into 2011. But a sharp pivot clearly isn't expected. And we're a bit alarmed to hear the Tech investment won't be completed until H2,12 (v. H1 previously) with costs now targeted at the high-end of the prior $110-130MM target. That will be a focus of Thursday's 8:00AM ET call." Shares of Dun & Bradstreet were trading at $85.47 in after hours trading at the time of posting, reflecting no change from Wednesday's market close.