TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the fifteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $111.64.

TRU has been the subject of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on shares of TransUnion from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research note on Friday, February 14th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 59,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,568,076.80. This represents a 1.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.74, for a total transaction of $174,342.54. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 105,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,095,112.82. The trade was a 1.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,021 shares of company stock worth $383,041. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC raised its position in TransUnion by 307.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,540,896 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $475,432,000 after acquiring an additional 3,427,199 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in TransUnion by 17.4% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 19,180,562 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,008,205,000 after acquiring an additional 2,840,800 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in TransUnion by 52.5% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,749,849 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $625,779,000 after acquiring an additional 2,323,339 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in TransUnion during the fourth quarter worth $180,011,000. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new stake in TransUnion during the third quarter worth $92,661,000.

TransUnion Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE:TRU opened at $82.44 on Monday. TransUnion has a one year low of $66.07 and a one year high of $113.17. The company has a 50 day moving average of $93.11 and a 200-day moving average of $97.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.70. The stock has a market cap of $16.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.70.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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). TransUnion had a return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 6.80%. The business had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that TransUnion will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current year.

TransUnion announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, February 13th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to reacquire up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a $0.115 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. This is a positive change from TransUnion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. TransUnion’s payout ratio is presently 31.51%.

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.