Updated Aug 15 at 1:55pm ET.
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Director Mark Peek purchased nearly 1 million dollars worth of shares across three days this week. These were open-market buys, meaning he used his own cash to increase his stake rather than receiving the shares as part of his pay.
Large purchases like this are often a sign of confidence from those closest to the business. This is especially notable here as the company just finished its spin-off from S&P Global and reported its first set of quarterly results as an independent firm. It suggests a member of the board believes the current price does not fully reflect the value of the company's vehicle data and analytics business.
Mobility Global reported revenue of 470 million dollars for the quarter, matching what analysts expected. Its most famous brand, CARFAX, saw sales grow 8 percent. This is the company's first report since spinning off from S&P Global in July, and management used the moment to start a quarterly dividend of 6 cents per share.
The business maintained a high profit margin of 43 percent, which shows the strength of its data-heavy model. Because it costs very little to serve the same vehicle records to one more customer, most new revenue drops straight to the bottom line. For long-term owners, the steady growth in CARFAX and the new dividend suggest the business is generating plenty of cash to handle the debt it took on during the spin-off.
See the full quarter, and how our tracked metrics did
Source: 8-K filing
Data from the company's CARFAX unit shows that used car prices are starting to plateau after months of steady gains. While car prices themselves do not directly set the company's revenue, a stable market is generally better for the volume of car sales.
Mobility Global makes its money when people and dealers run history reports, so it cares more about how many cars are changing hands than how much they cost. If price stability encourages more people to browse and buy, it keeps demand for the company's data high even if the individual car values are no longer soaring.
Source: PRNewsWire
Analysts recently reaffirmed their positions following the company's latest earnings report. One of the two analysts rates the stock a buy, and the average target price of $24 suggests a 20% gain from today's price.
In its very first report as an independent firm, the company essentially met expectations while showing strong profit margins. It is too early to call it a pattern, but management seems to be starting with a realistic bar.
