Bankrate keeps clicking


Several years ago, Bankrate Inc. (NASDAQ: RATE) was benefiting nicely from the mortgage boom. But, investors were skeptical -- could this last?

Well, Bankrate was smart to diversity its offerings, such as into credit cards and insurance. And it's working.

In Bankrate's Q3 report, revenues spiked 77% to $44 million (a record for the company). Net income was $6 million or $0.32 per share. Moreover, adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) came to $16 million, a 39% increase over the past year.

With the volatility in the financial markets, Bankrate got a nice boost from users looking for guidance. In fact, Q3 page views increased 11% to 160.1 million. No doubt, Bankrate certainly understands how to monetize such traffic.

Finally, with its cash flows, Bankrate has sought out cost-effective acquisitions. For example, in Q3 the company closed deals for Bankaholic and CreditCardGuide.com.

Going forward, Bankrate sees annual revenues of $164 million go $169 million, with adjusted EBITDA of $54 million to $58 million.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Streetsmart Guide to Short Selling: Techniques the Pros Use to Profit in Any Market. He is also the founder of BizEquity, a valuation website.

Symbol Lookup
IndexesChangePrice
DJIA-129.3012,761.16
NASDAQ-23.042,904.19
S&P 500-12.311,339.64

Last updated: February 10, 2012: 02:44 PM

Hot Stocks

General Electric

18.855-0.275(-1.44)

Alcoa

10.28-0.36(-3.38)

Apple Inc

494.17+1.00(+0.20)

Google Inc 'A'

605.42-6.04(-0.99)

Bank of America

8.075-0.105(-1.28)

Wal-Mart Stores

61.60-0.36(-0.58)

Exxon Mobil Corp

83.52-1.36(-1.60)

Ford

12.44-0.25(-1.97)

Citigroup

32.87-0.79(-2.35)

IBM

191.58-1.55(-0.80)

Yahoo

16.195+0.195(+1.22)

Starbucks

48.61-0.59(-1.20)

Microsoft

30.55-0.22(-0.72)

Home Depot

45.17-0.10(-0.22)

DailyFinance Headlines

Benzinga Headlines

TheFlyOnTheWall.com Headlines

BioHealth Investor Headlines

WalletPop Headlines

DailyFinance BlackBerry App

My Portfolios

Track your stocks here!

Find out why more people track their portfolios on AOL Money & Finance then anywhere else.

BloggingStocks Partners

More from AOL Money & Finance

BioHealth Investor Headlines

Page Loaded in 1328903093013 ms.