NYSE Euronext Inc. Stock Buy Recommendation Reiterated (NYX)

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) -- NYSE Euronext (NYSE:NYX) has been reiterated by TheStreet Ratings as a buy with a ratings score of B . The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its solid stock price performance and largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had sub par growth in net income.

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Highlights from the ratings report include:

• Compared to its closing price of one year ago, NYX's share price has jumped by 32.92%, exceeding the performance of the broader market during that same time frame. Looking ahead, the stock's sharp rise over the last year has already helped drive it to a level which is relatively expensive compared to the rest of its industry. We feel, however, that other strengths this company displays justify these higher price levels.
• The current debt-to-equity ratio, 0.40, is low and is below the industry average, implying that there has been successful management of debt levels. Despite the fact that NYX's debt-to-equity ratio is low, the quick ratio, which is currently 0.52, displays a potential problem in covering short-term cash needs.
• NYSE EURONEXT 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. The company has suffered a declining pattern of earnings per share over the past two years. However, we anticipate this trend to reverse over the coming year. During the past fiscal year, NYSE EURONEXT reported lower earnings of $1.39 versus $2.37 in the prior year. This year, the market expects an improvement in earnings ($2.31 versus $1.39).
• NYX, with its decline in revenue, underperformed when compared the industry average of 6.9%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues fell by 13.8%. Weakness in the company's revenue seems to have hurt the bottom line, decreasing earnings per share.
• Net operating cash flow has decreased to $278.00 million or 14.46% when compared to the same quarter last year. Despite a decrease in cash flow of 14.46%, NYSE EURONEXT is still significantly exceeding the industry average of -111.81%.

NYSE Euronext, through its subsidiaries, operates securities exchanges. It operates various stock exchanges, including the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), NYSE Arca, Inc., and NYSE MKT LLC in the United States; and European based exchanges comprising Euronext N.V. NYSE Euronext has a market cap of $9.23 billion and is part of the financial sector and financial services industry. The company has a P/E ratio of 27.3, above the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7. Shares are up 20.7% year to date as of the close of trading on Monday.

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

--Written by a member of TheStreet Ratings Staff.

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For more information on NYSE Euronext Inc. click any of the following:

• NYSE Euronext Inc. Stock Price

• NYSE Euronext Inc. Analyst Ratings

• NYSE Euronext Inc. Key Stats & Profile

• NYSE Euronext Inc. Earnings

• NYSE Euronext Inc. Ratio Comparison

• NYSE Euronext Inc. Growth Rates

• NYSE Euronext Inc. Balance Sheet

• NYSE Euronext Inc. Cash Flow

• NYSE Euronext Inc. Income Statement