Intuit (INTU) Hits New Lifetime High

Jamie Hodge for TheStreet.com writes:   Intuit (INTU) pushed the Computer Software & Services industry higher today making it today's featured computer software & services winner. The industry as a whole closed the day down 0.2%. By the end of trading, Intuit rose $1.47 (1.8%) to $82.20 on average volume. Throughout the day, 2,752,041 shares of Intuit exchanged hands as compared to its average daily volume of 1,894,300 shares. The stock ranged in a price between $80.57-$82.38 after having opened the day at $81.29 as compared to the previous trading day's close of $80.73. 

Trade-Ideas LLC identified Intuit (INTU) as a new lifetime high candidate. In addition to specific proprietary factors, Trade-Ideas identified Intuit as such a stock due to the following factors:

• INTU has an average dollar-volume (as measured by average daily share volume multiplied by share price) of $183.1 million.

• INTU has traded 54,077 shares today.

• INTU is trading at a new lifetime high.

Intuit Inc. provides business and financial management solutions for small businesses, consumers, and accounting professionals in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, India, and Singapore. The stock currently has a dividend yield of 0.9%. INTU has a PE ratio of 34.4. Currently there are 7 analysts that rate Intuit a buy, 1 analyst rates it a sell, and 8 rate it a hold.

The average volume for Intuit has been 1.9 million shares per day over the past 30 days. Intuit has a market cap of $22.9 billion and is part of the technology sector and computer software & services industry. The stock has a beta of 0.83 and a short float of 4% with 4.84 days to cover. Shares are up 6% year-to-date as of the close of trading on Wednesday.

TheStreetRatings.com Analysis:

TheStreet Quant Ratings rates Intuit as a buy. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures, notable return on equity, good cash flow from operations, solid stock price performance and expanding profit margins. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had sub par growth in net income.

Highlights from the ratings report include:

• Although INTU's debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22 is very low, it is currently higher than that of the industry average. Along with the favorable debt-to-equity ratio, the company maintains an adequate quick ratio of 1.11, which illustrates the ability to avoid short-term cash problems.
• Current return on equity exceeded its ROE from the same quarter one year prior. This is a clear sign of strength within the company. Compared to other companies in the Software industry and the overall market, INTUIT INC's return on equity significantly exceeds that of both the industry average and the S&P 500.
• Net operating cash flow has increased to $332.00 million or 29.68% when compared to the same quarter last year. The firm also exceeded the industry average cash flow growth rate of -0.99%.
• Compared to where it was a year ago today, the stock is now trading at a higher level, regardless of the company's weak earnings results. Turning our attention to the future direction of the stock, it goes without saying that even the best stocks can fall in an overall down market. However, in any other environment, this stock still has good upside potential despite the fact that it has already risen in the past year.
• INTUIT INC has experienced a steep decline in earnings per share in the most recent quarter in comparison to its performance from the same quarter a year ago. This company has reported somewhat volatile earnings recently. But, we feel it is poised for EPS growth in the coming year. During the past fiscal year, INTUIT INC increased its bottom line by earning $2.71 versus $2.53 in the prior year. This year, the market expects an improvement in earnings ($3.57 versus $2.71).