DFC Global Shares Popped: What You Need to Know

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of payday lender DFC Global (NAS: DLLR) were ringing up gains today as investors pushed the stock up as much as 16% after the company reported fiscal fourth quarter results.

So what: The first challenge for investors today may have been making sure they were reading about the right company -- DFC Global is the new name for Dollar Financial. Once that was figured out, though, it was smooth sailing.

For the fiscal fourth quarter, DFC reported $234 million in total revenue, up from $164 million in the June quarter of last year. The results were driven by a big jump in consumer lending fees and pawn services. On the bottom line, the company -- after adjusting for accounting changes and one-time gains -- earned $0.46 per share, a year-over-year gain of 64%. Wall Street analysts were looking for $0.41 in per-share earnings on $221 million in revenue.

Now what: But wait, it gets better! For fiscal 2012, DFC's management team sees more opportunity ahead. Both acquisitions and organic growth are expected to play a part in the expansion. For the full year, the company has projected revenue "in excess of $1 billion" and adjusted earnings per share of $2 to $2.15. Both targets top analysts' current estimates.

With a stock price that's just 10.5 times management's 2012 earnings target, this could be a stock worth a closer look -- big price spike or not.

Want to keep up to date on DFC Global?Add it to your watchlist.

At the time thisarticle was published Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.Fool contributorMatt Koppenhefferdoes not have a financial interest in any of the companies mentioned. You can check out what Matt is keeping an eye on by visiting hisCAPS portfolio, or you can follow Matt on Twitter@KoppTheFoolorFacebook. The Fool'sdisclosure policyprefers dividends over a sharp stick in the eye.

Copyright © 1995 - 2011 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.