Excerpt from our One Page Annotated Wall Street Journal Summary (receive it by email every morning by signing up here):

HEARD ON THE STREET: Reality Check: ADP Aims To Beat Bad Publicity

  • Summary: Paycheck-processing firm Automatic Data Processing (ADP) is trying to end a bad PR streak: it admitted earlier this month that it was duped into revealing confidential client info, and its much-publicized report on jobs, designed to predict official government statistics, came out nowhere near the official numbers. Yet ADP stock trades at an attractive 22x trailing multiple, and the company has a growing cash horde that keeps investors interested. Its 30% market share in paycheck processing leads nearest competitor Paychex by 20%, and the company regularly gains 21-29% of its profits from short-term interest payments on corporate deposits leading up to payday. Its brokerage business, facing high competitive pressures, has hamstrung overall growth; some analysts believe ADP should sell this unit.
  • Comment on related stocks/ETFs: ADP is on Lehman Bros.' 'Uncommon Values' portfolio for this year. See the company's latest conference call transcript.

Mick Weinstein

About this author:
Become a Contributor Submit an Article
  • Long Ideas

  • Short Ideas

  • Cramer's Picks

SA Partners

Hedge Fund Jobs

Job Seekers:

  • Search jobs by category
  • Get job alerts by email or live feed
  • Apply online
See full list of jobs »

Employers

  • See all recruitment options
  • Get applications online or by email
Post a job »

Trading Center