Pitney Bowes Tanks On Q4 Report; Brean Maintains Buy

Pitney Bowes Inc.'s (NYSE: PBI) shares fell sharply Monday on a disappointing outlook, but an analyst expects the company's earnings will grow 24 percent by 2016.The Stamford, Connecticut-based company, which also authorized a $100 million buyback Monday, changed hands recently at $21.56 a share, down more than 10 percent.But Brean Capital's Ananda Baruah maintained a Buy rating and $33 target, citing his expectation the company will earn $2.36 a share next year, up from 2014 adjusted earnings posted Monday of $1.90 a share.The company, known for its mail-meter machines, has sought to diversify in recent years and predicted 2015 earnings of $1.85 to $2 a share, compared with the consensus forecast of $1.99 a share. Revenue growth for the year will be flat to up 3 percent, according to the company.Pitney Bowes' core North American mailing business revenue declined 4 percent in the recent quarter to $376 million, versus Baruah's estimate of $381 million. The company's overall small-and medium-size business group, which includes mailing businesses internationally, saw revenue fall 3 percent to $510 million, excluding the effect of exiting some businesses in Europe.Over-all results for the fourth quarter included net profit of $62.5 million, or $0.31 cents a share, down nearly 30 percent from a year earlier.Revenue for the recent period was nearly flat at $983.9 million, while adjusted profit of $0.51 cents a share was in line with the Wall Street consensus.Chief Executive Marc Lautenbach said Pitney Bowes will continue to focus on cutting costs while making investments in "the areas that will optimize our business and grow revenue."