Analysts Set TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) Target Price at $107.63

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $111.64.

TRU has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of TransUnion from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research note on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of TransUnion from $103.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $121.00 price target on shares of TransUnion in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of TransUnion from $135.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th.

TransUnion Price Performance

Shares of NYSE TRU opened at $99.79 on Thursday. TransUnion has a fifty-two week low of $66.07 and a fifty-two week high of $113.17. The stock has a market cap of $19.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 86.77, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 1.68. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $95.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $97.91.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. TransUnion had a net margin of 5.47% and a return on equity of 15.38%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that TransUnion will post 3.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th will be given a dividend of $0.115 per share. This is a boost from TransUnion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. TransUnion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.52%.

TransUnion declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 13th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to purchase up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director George M. Awad sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total transaction of $1,200,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 27,026 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,702,600. The trade was a 30.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of TransUnion stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.60, for a total transaction of $93,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 59,488 shares in the company, valued at $5,568,076.80. This represents a 1.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 18,590 shares of company stock valued at $1,854,218. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TransUnion

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TRU. Huntington National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 84.5% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 286 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 82.1% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 428 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of TransUnion in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in TransUnion by 4,590.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 469 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 459 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new position in TransUnion during the 4th quarter worth about $47,000.

TransUnion Company Profile

TransUnion operates as a global consumer credit reporting agency that provides risk and information solutions. The company operates through U.S. Markets, International, and Consumer Interactive segments. The U.S. Markets segment provides consumer reports, actionable insights, and analytic services to businesses, which uses its services to acquire new customers; assess consumer ability to pay for services; identify cross-selling opportunities; measure and manage debt portfolio risk; collect debt; verify consumer identities; and mitigate fraud risk.