S&P 500 (NYSE:SPY) component T. Rowe Price Group Inc. (NASDAQ:TROW) reported its results for the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price, a financial services holding company, provides investment advisory services to individual and institutional investors in the sponsored mutual funds and other investment portfolios.

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T. Rowe Price Group Earnings Cheat Sheet for the Fourth Quarter

Results: Net income for the financial services company fell to $188.4 million (73 cents per share) vs. $191.6 million (72 cents per share) a year earlier. This is a decline of 1.7% from the year earlier quarter.

Actual vs. Wall St. Expectations: TROW beat the mean analyst estimate of 69 cents per share. Analysts were expecting revenue of $658.3 million.

Quoting Management: James A.C. Kennedy, the company’s chief executive officer and president, commented: “With markets facing substantial headwinds, 2011 was an unusually volatile year that tested the patience of investors around the world. The eurozone’s sovereign debt problems, lack of political leadership in both Washington and Europe, and concerns about a global economic slowdown led to losses in most global equity markets. Despite the tumult, a fragile U.S. economic recovery continued to gain traction, bond investors came through in relatively good shape, and investors in U.S. large-cap companies had small gains.”

Key Stats:

Last quarter’s profit decrease breaks a streak of four consecutive quarters of year-over-year profit increases. In the third quarter, net income rose 9.7% from the year earlier, while the figure increased 29.1% in the second quarter, 27.2% in the first quarter and 25.6% in the fourth quarter of the last fiscal year.

The company beat estimates last quarter after falling short in the previous two quarters. In the third quarter, it missed the mark by 2 cents, and in the second quarter, it fell short by one cent.

Looking Forward: Analysts appear increasingly optimistic about the company’s results for the next quarter. The average estimate for the first quarter of the next fiscal year has moved up from 70 cents a share to 72 cents over the last sixty days. The average estimate for the fiscal year has seen a bump from $2.88 per share sixty days ago to $2.89.

Competitors to Watch: Federated Investors, Inc. (NYSE:FII), BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK), Waddell & Reed Financial, Inc. (NYSE:WDR), U.S. Global Investors, Inc. (NASDAQ:GROW), Janus Capital Group Inc. (NYSE:JNS), Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN), Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTS), Cohen & Steers, Inc. (NYSE:CNS), Calamos Asset Management, Inc (NASDAQ:CLMS), and Financial Engines Inc (NASDAQ:FNGN).

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(Company fundamentals provided by Xignite Financials. Earnings estimates provided by Zacks)

To contact the reporter on this story: Derek Hoffman at staff.writers@wallstcheatsheet.com

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Damien Hoffman at editors@wallstcheatsheet.com

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