Thomson Reuters (NYSE:TRI) Reaches New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Thomson Reuters Co. (NYSE:TRI) (TSE:TRI) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $180.33 and last traded at $180.32, with a volume of 7876 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $178.82.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Scotiabank upped their target price on Thomson Reuters from $187.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Thomson Reuters from $175.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on Thomson Reuters from $164.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Thomson Reuters from $168.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Thomson Reuters from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Thomson Reuters has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $182.09.

Thomson Reuters Trading Up 0.2 %

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $167.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $167.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market cap of $80.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.64, a PEG ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 0.73.

Thomson Reuters (NYSE:TRI) (TSE:TRI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The business services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.04. Thomson Reuters had a return on equity of 14.62% and a net margin of 30.45%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Thomson Reuters Co. will post 3.89 EPS for the current year.

Thomson Reuters Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.595 per share. This represents a $2.38 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.33%. This is a positive change from Thomson Reuters’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Thomson Reuters’s payout ratio is presently 48.67%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Thomson Reuters

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of TRI. Aigen Investment Management LP raised its holdings in Thomson Reuters by 87.4% during the third quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 7,326 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,250,000 after purchasing an additional 3,417 shares in the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Thomson Reuters during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,506,000. Atomi Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Thomson Reuters by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,819 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $292,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Thomson Reuters by 52.2% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,153,240 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $185,011,000 after acquiring an additional 395,481 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Qsemble Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Thomson Reuters during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,127,000. 17.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Thomson Reuters

Thomson Reuters Corporation engages in the provision of business information services in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It operates in five segments: Legal Professionals, Corporates, Tax & Accounting Professionals, Reuters News, and Global Print. The Legal Professionals segment offers research and workflow products focusing on legal research and integrated legal workflow solutions that combine content, tools, and analytics to law firms and governments.