TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) to Issue $0.11 Quarterly Dividend

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, August 9th, NASDAQ reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 23rd will be paid a dividend of 0.105 per share by the business services provider on Monday, September 9th. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 23rd.

TransUnion has increased its dividend payment by an average of 11.9% annually over the last three years. TransUnion has a payout ratio of 9.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect TransUnion to earn $4.07 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.42 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 10.3%.

TransUnion Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of TransUnion stock opened at $93.28 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66. TransUnion has a 52-week low of $42.09 and a 52-week high of $94.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -65.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.61. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $80.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $77.29.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The business services provider reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.13. TransUnion had a negative net margin of 6.11% and a positive return on equity of 15.03%. The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.76 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that TransUnion will post 3.43 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,776 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.00, for a total value of $127,872.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 71,547 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,151,384. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other TransUnion news, insider Todd C. Skinner sold 2,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.58, for a total transaction of $248,182.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 27,729 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,373,047.82. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,776 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.00, for a total transaction of $127,872.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 71,547 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,151,384. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 33,661 shares of company stock worth $2,604,898 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on TRU shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $94.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of TransUnion to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Bank of America raised shares of TransUnion from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $92.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $90.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, TransUnion has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.47.

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.