BMO Sees Thomson Reuters Recovering From Soft Q2

BMO said the attractive underlying fundamentals of Thomson Reuters Corp TRI would help the company to recover from the soft second quarter and point to revenue growth in 2016.

Further, BMO noted that the positive sales results of the financial & risk unit for the ninth consecutive quarter "bodes well for the organic revenue growth outlook."

In addition, the brokerage expects the proceeds from the IP & science divestiture to finance additional buybacks. During the second quarter, the company bought back 6.3 million shares for $258 million.

"We continue to forecast mid-single digit EBITDA growth through 2017E," analyst Tim Casey wrote in a note.

Meanwhile, the company's second-quarter results were slightly below expectations. "Revenue from ongoing businesses declined 1 percent to $2.769 billion (consensus $2.846 billion). Adjusted EPS were $0.50 versus $0.49 consensus and $0.45 last year," the analyst said.

Related Link: Barclays Underwhelmed By Thomson Reuters' $1 Billion Share Buybacks

"For 2016, the company continues to expect low single-digit revenue growth of 2–3 percent excluding financial & risk's recoveries revenues, adjusted EBITDA margin of 27.3–28.3 percent (consensus 28.1 percent), and free cash flow of $1.7 billion–$1.9 billion (includes IP&S)."

Moreover, the analyst cut his 2016 EPS estimate to $1.99 from $2.04, but raised 2017 estimate to $2.28 from $2.24.

Casey, who has an Outperform rating on the stock, raised his price target to $60 from $57.50.

Shares of Thomson Reuters closed Friday's trading at $42.11.

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Posted In: Analyst ColorEarningsLong IdeasNewsPrice TargetReiterationAnalyst RatingsTrading IdeasBMOBMO Capital MarketsTim Casey
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