TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the fifteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eleven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $83.73.

TRU has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Oppenheimer increased their target price on TransUnion from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on TransUnion from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on TransUnion from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on TransUnion from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on TransUnion from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,776 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.00, for a total value of $127,872.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 71,547 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,151,384. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other TransUnion news, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.27, for a total value of $74,270.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 70,547 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,239,525.69. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,776 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 71,547 shares in the company, valued at $5,151,384. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 16,896 shares of company stock valued at $1,237,376. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in TransUnion by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,910,715 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,230,645,000 after purchasing an additional 234,123 shares during the period. Capital International Investors purchased a new stake in shares of TransUnion during the fourth quarter worth about $663,001,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of TransUnion by 570.4% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,029,897 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $483,024,000 after acquiring an additional 5,981,271 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of TransUnion by 51.8% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,755,729 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $539,108,000 after acquiring an additional 2,306,596 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of TransUnion by 12.1% during the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 5,316,891 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $424,288,000 after acquiring an additional 572,121 shares during the last quarter.

TransUnion Stock Performance

Shares of TRU stock opened at $73.91 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $14.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -51.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.61. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $74.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $73.52. TransUnion has a 12-month low of $42.09 and a 12-month high of $82.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The business services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $977.62 million. TransUnion had a positive return on equity of 14.26% and a negative net margin of 7.02%. On average, equities analysts forecast that TransUnion will post 3.42 EPS for the current year.

TransUnion Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th were issued a dividend of $0.105 per share. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 16th. TransUnion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -29.37%.

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.