Factual Data shares hit record at mid-day

LOVELAND – Shares of Factual Data Corp. (NASDAQ: FDCC) soared to an all-time high today at mid-day trading, reaching $19.25 per share, up $1.32 from the opening bell.

The company’s stock value- up 156 percent since Jan. 1 – is prospering less than a year after Factual Data Corp. was ready to sell to the larger Fidelity National Information Systems.

The merger was called off last August, and initially hit Factual Data’s shareholders hard.

Factual Data stock fell 44 percent on Aug. 30, 2002, the day the news reached Wall Street. That day’s closing price of $5.88 remains a 52-week low for Factual Data shares.

A year later, neither side is discussing the break-up, or who walked away from whom. But history has looked kindly on Factual Data.

“It’s been the right decision,´ said Factual Data chairman Jerry Donnan. “We don’t have any bad feelings about that merger going away.”

Donnan’s reasons are easily explained.

The company, which specializes in Internet-based credit reporting for the mortgage industry, finished 2002 with a record profit – $6.5 million – and revenues – $63.1 million.

Thanks to a continuing surge in home buying and refinancing, Factual Data’s on pace for another record year in 2003. Analysts are projecting profits of up to $1.51 per share, or $9.06 million.

Factual Data has made hay from historically low mortgage rates, which dipped to 5.21 percent last week for 30-year fixed mortgages.

The low rates are motivating hordes of existing homeowners to refinance, as well as helping many others to qualify for home loans. The more mortgage transactions, the more calls coming into Factual Data for credit checks, which represents two-thirds of the company’s business.

The mortgage market isn’t likely to tail off soon. A new report from Bear Stearns shows that 95 percent of current mortgage borrowers “have a significant incentive” to refinance based on current interest rates.

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