Navigant Consulting Stock Downgraded (NCI)

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) -- Navigant Consulting (NYSE:NCI) has been downgraded by TheStreet Ratings from buy to hold. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures and growth in earnings per share. However, as a counter to these strengths, we also find weaknesses including poor profit margins, weak operating cash flow and a generally disappointing performance in the stock itself.

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Highlights from the ratings report include:

• NCI's revenue growth has slightly outpaced the industry average of 6.6%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues slightly increased by 1.8%. This growth in revenue appears to have trickled down to the company's bottom line, improving the earnings per share.
• NCI's debt-to-equity ratio is very low at 0.28 and is currently below that of the industry average, implying that there has been very successful management of debt levels. To add to this, NCI has a quick ratio of 1.57, which demonstrates the ability of the company to cover short-term liquidity needs.
• The net income growth from the same quarter one year ago has exceeded that of the S&P 500, but is less than that of the Professional Services industry average. The net income increased by 8.6% when compared to the same quarter one year prior, going from $10.54 million to $11.44 million.
• The gross profit margin for NAVIGANT CONSULTING INC is currently lower than what is desirable, coming in at 28.20%. It has decreased from the same quarter the previous year. Along with this, the net profit margin of 5.50% trails that of the industry average.
• Net operating cash flow has decreased to $25.11 million or 37.73% 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.

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Navigant Consulting, Inc., a specialty consulting firm, provides services to companies in addressing the challenges of uncertainty, risk, distress, and significant change. The company has a P/E ratio of 12.3, below the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7. Navigant Consulting has a market cap of $530 million and is part of the services sector and diversified services industry. Shares are down 9.2% year to date as of the close of trading on Tuesday.

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

-- Written by a member of TheStreet Ratings Staff

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