Finding a Money Maker in the Housing Catastrophe

An investment in the shares of Lender Processing Services (LPS) offers investors a way to profit from the current housing malaise. The prosaically named Jacksonville, Fla., company specializes in processing mortgage transactions, including those related to foreclosures. In fact, it can do such back-office work more cheaply than most lenders can do it themselves. That’s why 41 of the top 50 U.S. banks use some of LPS’s suite of more than 30 services. These days, foreclosures account for a lot of the company’s work. But the mortgage specialist’s services should remain in demand after the housing slump ends.