TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,390,000 shares, an increase of 19.5% from the February 28th total of 4,510,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,660,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.2 days. Approximately 2.8% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TRU has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of TransUnion in a report on Monday, March 24th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of TransUnion from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on TransUnion from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price 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 lowered their price target on TransUnion from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, TransUnion has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $114.08.

Insider Transactions at TransUnion

In other news, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the business’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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 105,443 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,095,112.82. The trade was a 1.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.95, for a total value of $95,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,021 shares of company stock worth $372,751. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TransUnion

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in TransUnion by 82.1% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 428 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of TransUnion in the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Huntington National Bank grew its stake in shares of TransUnion by 58.7% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 454 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the period. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new stake in shares of TransUnion during the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in TransUnion in the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000.

TransUnion Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:TRU opened at $75.35 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $90.60 and a 200-day moving average of $96.69. 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 has a twelve month low of $66.07 and a twelve month high of $113.17. The firm has a market cap of $14.70 billion, a PE ratio of 51.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.70.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 6.80%. On average, equities research analysts predict that TransUnion will post 3.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TransUnion announced that its board has authorized 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a $0.115 dividend. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. This is a positive change from TransUnion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. TransUnion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.51%.

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.