TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $111.64.

Several brokerages have issued reports on TRU. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of TransUnion in a report on Friday, February 14th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of TransUnion from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on TransUnion from $135.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on TransUnion from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th.

TransUnion Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of TRU opened at $86.37 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.70. TransUnion has a 1 year low of $66.07 and a 1 year high of $113.17. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $93.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $98.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.70.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.14). TransUnion had a return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 6.80%. The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that TransUnion will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th will be issued a $0.115 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. 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 0.53%. TransUnion’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.51%.

TransUnion announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to repurchase up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other TransUnion news, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.74, for a total value of $174,342.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 105,443 shares in the company, valued at $10,095,112.82. The trade was a 1.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.95, for a total transaction of $95,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 58,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,611,923.60. This trade represents a 1.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 4,021 shares of company stock valued at $383,041. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TransUnion

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in TransUnion by 84.5% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 286 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised 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 valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of TransUnion in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in TransUnion during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new position in TransUnion during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000.

About TransUnion

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.