TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) Given New $100.00 Price Target at Oppenheimer

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) had its price target upped by Oppenheimer from $96.00 to $100.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Oppenheimer currently has an outperform rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on TransUnion from $120.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Bank of America assumed coverage on TransUnion in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $84.00 price objective for the company. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on TransUnion from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $109.69.

TransUnion Stock Up 2.6%

NYSE TRU opened at $84.55 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $81.77 and a 200-day moving average of $90.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.67. TransUnion has a 52 week low of $66.38 and a 52 week high of $113.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 1.70.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.07 billion. TransUnion had a return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 6.80%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.92 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that TransUnion will post 3.99 EPS for the current year.

TransUnion Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.115 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. TransUnion’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.47%.

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

Insider Transactions at TransUnion

In other TransUnion news, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 105,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,095,112.82. This represents a 1.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of TransUnion stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.31, for a total transaction of $83,310.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 77,393 shares in the company, valued at $6,447,610.83. This trade represents a 1.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,021 shares of company stock valued at $359,761 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TRU. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in TransUnion by 1,318.2% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 312 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in shares of TransUnion by 105.3% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 423 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of TransUnion during the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in shares of TransUnion by 58.7% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 454 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Finally, S Bank Fund Management Ltd bought a new stake in TransUnion during the first quarter worth about $44,000.

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.