What Happened?
A number of stocks fell in the afternoon session after a key inflation report showed producer prices surged more than anticipated in April.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the Producer Price Index (PPI), which measures inflation before it reaches consumers, jumped 1.4% for the month. This was the largest monthly increase since March 2022.
On an annual basis, producer prices rose 6%, the highest since December 2022, partly driven by elevated energy costs. This hotter-than-expected data suggested that inflationary pressures might persist in the supply chain, which could lead companies to pass on higher costs to customers. Such trends often attract the attention of the Federal Reserve and influence future monetary policy decisions, creating uncertainty for investors.
The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks.
Among others, the following stocks were impacted:
- IT Services & Consulting company Everforth (NYSE: EFOR) fell 5%. Is now the time to buy Everforth? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Enterprise Networking company Amdocs (NASDAQ: DOX) fell 4.4%. Is now the time to buy Amdocs? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Government & Technical Consulting company Booz Allen Hamilton (NYSE: BAH) fell 4.9%. Is now the time to buy Booz Allen Hamilton? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Data & Business Process Services company Broadridge (NYSE: BR) fell 5.1%. Is now the time to buy Broadridge? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Business Process Outsourcing & Consulting company CBIZ (NYSE: CBZ) fell 4.4%. Is now the time to buy CBIZ? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
Zooming In On Broadridge (BR)
Broadridge’s shares are not very volatile and have only had 3 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful, although it might not be something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The biggest move we wrote about over the last year was 9 months ago when the stock gained 6.2% on the news that the company reported strong fourth-quarter financial results that surpassed Wall Street's expectations and announced a dividend increase.
The fintech firm posted adjusted earnings of $3.55 per share on revenue of $2.07 billion, which both topped analyst estimates. Strong demand for its investor communication services and global technology businesses fueled this performance. Broadridge also rewarded its shareholders, declaring an 11% increase in its annual dividend.
This marked the nineteenth consecutive year the company raised its payout. To complete the positive news, the company issued an optimistic outlook for fiscal year 2026.
Broadridge is down 36.3% since the beginning of the year, and at $140.52 per share, it is trading 47.4% below its 52-week high of $266.89 from August 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Broadridge’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at only $872.93.
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