Nielsen Holdings NV Stock Upgraded (NLSN)

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Nielsen Holdings (NYSE:NLSN) has been upgraded by TheStreet Ratings from sell to hold. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its impressive record of earnings per share growth and expanding profit margins. However, as a counter to these strengths, we also find weaknesses including weak operating cash flow and a generally disappointing performance in the stock itself.

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Highlights from the ratings report include:

• NIELSEN HOLDINGS NV has improved earnings per share by 47.4% in the most recent quarter compared to the same quarter a year ago. This year, the market expects an improvement in earnings ($1.78 versus $0.18).
• The gross profit margin for NIELSEN HOLDINGS NV is rather high; currently it is at 59.30%. It has increased from the same quarter the previous year.
• Despite the weak revenue results, NLSN has outperformed against the industry average of 15.8%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues slightly dropped by 0.8%. The declining revenue has not hurt the company's bottom line, with increasing earnings per share.
• NLSN has underperformed the S&P 500 Index, declining 9.39% from its price level of one year ago. The fact that the stock is now selling for less than others in its industry in relation to its current earnings is not reason enough to justify a buy rating at this time.
• Net operating cash flow has declined marginally to $116.00 million or 4.91% when compared to the same quarter last year. In addition, when comparing the cash generation rate to the industry average, the firm's growth is significantly lower.

Nielsen Holdings N.V., through its subsidiary, The Nielsen Company B.V., operates as an information and measurement company worldwide. The company has a P/E ratio of 29.1, below the average computer software & services industry P/E ratio of 30.9 and above the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7. Nielsen has a market cap of $9.03 billion and is part of the technology sector and computer software & services industry. Shares are down 7.3% year to date as of the close of trading on Thursday.

You can view the full Nielsen Ratings Report or get investment ideas from our investment research center.

-- Written by a member of TheStreet Ratings Staff

TheStreet ratings do not represent the views of TheStreet's staff or its contributors. Ratings are established by computer based on metrics for performance (which includes growth, stock performance, efficiency and valuation) and risk (volatility and solvency). Companies with poor cash flow or high debt levels tend to earn lower ratings in our model.

For more information on Nielsen Holdings NV click any of the following:

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• Nielsen Holdings NV Earnings

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• Nielsen Holdings NV Growth Rates

• Nielsen Holdings NV Balance Sheet

• Nielsen Holdings NV Cash Flow

• Nielsen Holdings NV Income Statement