This is a continuation of the Healthcare Stocks Ripe for Growth series this week. Yesterday, I profiled the Biotech company Gilead Sciences. This week is the medical record keeper, Quality Systems.

Quality Systems (QSII)

Regardless of whether the Obama administration gets public healthcare legislation passed, one thing you can count on is a bigger focus on improving healthcare technology and efficiency. In fact, $29 billion of the $787 billion spending plan enacted by congress shortly after the president’s inauguration was earmarked specifically for such healthcare improvements.

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The growth story.
It’s no surprise that since then, Quality Systems has risen in price about 63%!

Given that kind of run up in price, it’s likely that a large amount of the return has already been realized, but it is still a solid company in a growth sector. Anyone who’s been to the doctor’s office and seen the wall of folders housing patient records knows that there is still a lot of information yet to be digitized.

Quality Systems is one of the big players in the fledgling industry and is therefore in a good position to capture a large market share and benefit from the government’s efforts to cut medical costs and increase the use of technology.

In good shape, financially.
The financial’s seem to be in good shape as well. The are already profitable, have a 30% profit margin, no debt and $78 million in cash. The stock also sports a $1.20 annual dividend, about 2.3% yield. Analysts expect profits to grow 11% for 2009, and 30% for 2010 – and that’s before the bulk of the money from tax payers kicks in.

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