Dolan Co Stock Downgraded (DM)

Editor's Note: 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.

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Dolan (NYSE:DM) has been downgraded by TheStreet Ratings from hold to sell. The company's weaknesses can be seen in multiple areas, such as its feeble growth in its earnings per share, deteriorating net income, disappointing return on equity, weak operating cash flow and generally disappointing historical performance in the stock itself.

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Highlights from the ratings report include:

• DOLAN CO has exprienced a steep decline in earnings per share in the most recent quarter in comparison to its performance from the same quarter a year ago. Earnings per share have declined over the last year. We anticipate that this should continue in the coming year. During the past fiscal year, DOLAN CO reported lower earnings of $0.89 versus $1.10 in the prior year. For the next year, the market is expecting a contraction of 76.4% in earnings ($0.21 versus $0.89).
• The company, on the basis of change in net income from the same quarter one year ago, has significantly underperformed when compared to that of the S&P 500 and the Professional Services industry. The net income has significantly decreased by 3449.6% when compared to the same quarter one year ago, falling from $3.09 million to -$103.50 million.
• Return on equity has greatly decreased when compared to its ROE from the same quarter one year prior. This is a signal of major weakness within the corporation. Compared to other companies in the Professional Services industry and the overall market, DOLAN CO's return on equity significantly trails that of both the industry average and the S&P 500.
• Net operating cash flow has significantly decreased to -$2.89 million or 129.91% when compared to the same quarter last year. In addition, when comparing to the industry average, the firm's growth rate is much lower.
• Despite any intermediate fluctuations, we have only bad news to report on this stock's performance over the last year: it has tumbled by 53.06%, worse than the S&P 500's performance. Consistent with the plunge in the stock price, the company's earnings per share are down 1668.42% compared to the year-earlier quarter. Naturally, the overall market trend is bound to be a significant factor. However, in one sense, the stock's sharp decline last year is a positive for future investors, making it cheaper (in proportion to its earnings over the past year) than most other stocks in its industry. But due to other concerns, we feel the stock is still not a good buy right now.

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The Dolan Company, together with its subsidiaries, provides professional services and business information to legal, financial, and real estate sectors in the United States. Its Professional Services division offers professional services supporting primarily attorneys and/or their clients. The company has a P/E ratio of -1.6, below the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7. Dolan has a market cap of $122.1 million and is part of the services sector and media industry. Shares are down 53.8% year to date as of the close of trading on Tuesday.

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

-- Written by a member of TheStreet Ratings Staff

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