(TOC) - Thomson Corp - Beat earnings in two of four quarters by an average 23.4%

The Thomson Corporation (TOC) exceeded analysts’ earnings expectations for the past four quarters by an average margin of 19.4%. The company has been returning value to shareholders in the form of dividends and share buybacks. This Zacks #1 Rank stock has a current dividend yield of 2.2% and a five-year average dividend yield of 2.4%. Full Analysis The Thomson Corporation is a leading global provider of integrated information-based solutions to business and professional customers. The company serves more than 20 million information users in the fields of law, tax, accounting, financial services, scientific research and healthcare. Over the past four quarters, TOC has succeeded in beating the Street’s earnings estimate by an average margin of 19.4%. In two out of the four quarters, the company surprised by a double-digit percentage. Earnings per share grew 23.4% over the past five years. The company is scheduled to release its fourth-quarter and full-year results on Feb 8. On Oct 26, TOC reported third-quarter profits of 61 cents per share, which surpassed the consensus estimate of 57 cents by 7.0%. The result also represented a 19.6% year-over-year improvement when compared to the 51 cents earned in the third quarter of 2005. Revenues grew to $2.4 billion from $2.3 billion in the prior-year period. President and CEO Richard J. Harrington stated, “We delivered solid performance this quarter, reflecting good organic revenue and earnings growth, and continued success in executing on our THOMSONplus initiatives.” For the first nine months of the year, profits jumped 28.0% to $685 million from $535 million for the first nine months of last year. Revenues came in at $6.4 billion, versus $6.0 billion in the same period last year. The company has been returning value to shareholders in the form of dividends and share buybacks. TOC first started repurchasing shares in May 2005 and has bought back approximately 17.0 million common shares at a cost of around $629 million. On Oct 26, the Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of 22 cents per common share. TOC has a current dividend yield of 2.2% and a five-year average dividend yield of 2.4%. Oct 25, TOC announced that it will sell its divisions devoted to higher education, library reference, electronic testing and other markets as part of a reorganization. The company cited that its Learning unit did not fit its “long-term strategic vision.” The move was taken in an effort to “sharpen its strategic focus on providing electronic workflow solutions to business and professional markets and better position the company for future growth.” Content Courtesy: Zacks Investment Research #1 Ranked Stocks Highlight Archive To truly take advantage of the Zacks Rank, you need to first understand how it works. That is why we created the free special report: Zacks Rank Guide: Harnessing the Power of Earnings Estimate Revisions. | Blog Home| VitalStocks Home