TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $111.64.

TRU has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on TransUnion from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of TransUnion in a report on Friday, February 14th. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of TransUnion from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $121.00 price target on shares of TransUnion in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $104.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director George M. Awad sold 12,000 shares of TransUnion stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was 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 owns 27,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,702,600. This trade represents a 30.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.60, for a total value of $93,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 59,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,568,076.80. The trade was a 1.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 18,590 shares of company stock worth $1,854,218 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On TransUnion

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its position in TransUnion by 1.0% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 10,211 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,069,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in TransUnion by 15.0% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 788 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank increased its position in TransUnion by 84.5% during 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 during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in TransUnion by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,597 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,261,000 after buying an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of TransUnion by 14.4% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,094 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $101,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the last quarter.

TransUnion Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE TRU opened at $96.46 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $95.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $98.12. TransUnion has a 52-week low of $66.07 and a 52-week high of $113.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 66.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.63.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. TransUnion had a net margin of 6.80% and a return on equity of 15.85%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that TransUnion will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current year.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be given a dividend of $0.115 per share. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. This is a boost from TransUnion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. TransUnion’s payout ratio is presently 28.77%.

TransUnion announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, February 13th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to purchase up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.