TransUnion (TRU) – What Are Brokerages Thinking About This Stock?

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation and ten have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $90.69.

TRU has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Zacks Research cut TransUnion from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on TransUnion from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on TransUnion from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Griffin Securities set a $98.00 price objective on TransUnion in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on TransUnion from $106.00 to $97.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 13th.

TransUnion Trading Up 4.4%

Shares of NYSE:TRU opened at $81.99 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $74.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $74.18. TransUnion has a 1 year low of $60.96 and a 1 year high of $89.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 2.03 and a quick ratio of 2.03.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The business services provider reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. TransUnion had a net margin of 15.83% and a return on equity of 16.51%. The company’s revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.10 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that TransUnion will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 10th will be paid a $0.1350 dividend. This is an increase from TransUnion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.1250. This represents a $0.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 10th. TransUnion’s payout ratio is 13.14%.

Insider Transactions at TransUnion

In related news, EVP Alicia Zuiker sold 8,673 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.49, for a total transaction of $680,743.77. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 41,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,287,396.67. This represents a 17.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Mohamed Abdelsadek sold 1,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.07, for a total transaction of $98,837.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 53,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,224,789.17. The trade was a 2.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 41,427 shares of company stock valued at $3,200,128. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Essential Partners LLC increased its position in TransUnion by 63.7% during the first quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 609 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in TransUnion during the third quarter worth about $37,000. CX Institutional boosted its holdings in TransUnion by 263.0% in the 2nd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 668 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 484 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new position in TransUnion in the 2nd quarter valued at about $53,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of TransUnion by 42.6% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 887 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 265 shares during the period.

TransUnion Company Profile

TransUnion (NYSE: TRU) is a global information and insights company that helps businesses and consumers make more informed decisions. The company collects, analyzes and delivers data related to credit, identity, fraud and consumer behavior, serving customers across financial services, insurance, healthcare, retail, telecommunications and other industries.

Its products and services include consumer credit reports and scores, credit-risk assessment, marketing and audience insights, identity verification, fraud detection, investigative tools and decisioning software.