Fidelity National Information Services (FIS) is up about 3% today after reporting first-quarter EPS of $1.47 vs. $1.30 last year, which was $0.02 better than expectations. Additionally, the company’s revenue growth of 8% was better than expectations of 6.6%.
The stock is higher but has retreated slightly from its best levels of the day. While there may be some disappointment that the company could expand margins to a greater extent, I believe the market is reacting positively to the news that the company will resume repurchasing shares for the remainder of the year. It is targeting a purchase of $3.0 billion, or roughly 5% of its outstanding shares. FIS also raised its dividend by 21%, saying it can now return more money to shareholders after recent efforts to reduce debt.
The company gave in-line guidance for annual EPS of $7.25 to $7.37 a share. At 14X these estimates, the stock remains a solid value. FIS remains a buy under $110. My target is $130.