“The Advisory Board Company (ABCO) provides best practice research and analysis, business intelligence and software tools and management and advisory services to the healthcare and education industries. The company’s main customers are hospitals who pay the Advisory Board yearly subscription fees to access its best practices research and analysis which includes written and digital publications, real-time access to consultants, attendance at industry meetings and teleconferences and access to an array of online resources.
“Lately, growth has accelerated due to strong demand for the company’s business intelligence and software tools, which help clients hardwire the Advisory Board’s proprietary research and analysis into their organization. Specifically, the software tools can provide real-time data to evaluate individual and group physician performance. The company’s research and benchmarking software tools have become increasingly important to providers as they deal with the uncertainties in the healthcare industry including healthcare reform, government spending cuts, implementation of electronic medical records, procedure coding changes and demographic changes. In the company’s latest reported second quarter, sales increased approximately 31% to $92.9 million from $71.1 million in the second quarter of last year. The Advisory Board reported adjusted earnings per share of $0.56 in the latest reported second quarter versus $0.44 in the same quarter of last year. ... Buy [at] 66.50.”
Jim Oberweis, The Oberweis Report, 12/11
