Verint Systems Inc. (VRNT) Stock Can Secure Your Portfolio

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Verint Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:VRNT) has bounced since hitting a five-month low earlier this month. But VRNT stock remains down almost 15% from a 52-week high reached in late March, providing an attractive opportunity for patient investors.

Verint Systems Inc. (VRNT) Stock Can Secure Your Portfolio

Verint isn’t the fastest-growing company in tech, but it’s set up for a strong second half of the year; the market isn’t giving the stock enough credit. At just 14X this year’s earnings, VRNT is priced far too cheaply.

Let’s look at what its business has to offer.

Verint’s Two Impressive Businesses

Verint Systems is a global leader in Actionable Intelligence, which provides crucial data and insights to improve management decision-making. The product portfolio has broad reach among organizations of varying sizes and in different industries. In fact, more than 80% of Fortune 100 companies are VRNT clients.

The company operates in two segments:

  • The Customer Engagement segment includes products like Voice of the Customer, which analyzes customer interactions across a number of channels (voice, text, digital and social media), and Workforce Optimization, which provides similar Big Data solutions on the employee side to improve customer service, retention, and performance.
  • The Cyber Intelligence segment focuses on law enforcement and military customers, offering data mining solutions that improve border control, national security and cybersecurity. About two-thirds of fiscal 2017 (ending January) revenue came from Customer Engagement, with the balance from the Cyber Intelligence business.

The long-term trend here has been positive, helped by a series of acquisitions. While results have been lumpy of late, particularly in the Cyber Intelligence business, fiscal 2018 looks like better a year. Verint is guiding for mid-single-digit growth in Customer Engagement, and a bounce-back high-single-digit gain in Cyber Intelligence.

In Customer Engagement, the company still has room to broaden its customer base, despite its already large roster. Verint continues to invest in machine learning and advanced analytics, and recent acquisitions of OpinionLab and Contact Solutions filled holes in the company’s portfolio. Cloud revenue is expected to grow by more than 25% this year, moving recurring revenue to nearly 60% of the total and creating a stable base for growth.

In Cyber Intelligence, Verint expects it can drive double-digit annual revenue growth going forward. Government demand should only grow, as threats from hackers and terrorists increase. And management believes it can expand its market to private customers as bad actors raise more significant security risks for private enterprises.

VRNT Stock Is Too Cheap

As a result, earnings are projected to increase to $2.70 a share this year, up 8% year-over-year, and that growth is expected to keep rising going forward. And if that’s the case, then VRNT simply is too cheap.

Verint Systems may not be the sexiest name in tech, but it’s a solid niche business with room for consistent, multiyear expansion … and that makes it an attractive name in my book.

Hilary Kramer is the editor of GameChangersBreakout StocksHigh Octane Trader, Absolute Capital Return and Value Authority. She is an accomplished investment specialist and market strategist with more than 25 years of experience in portfolio management, equity research, trading, and risk management. She has extensive expertise in global financial management, asset allocation, investment banking and private equity ventures, and is regularly sought after to provide her analysis on Bloomberg, CNBC, Fox Business Network and other media.


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2017/08/verint-systems-inc-vrnt-stock-can-secure-your-portfolio/.

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