TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the sixteen brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $108.19.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on TRU shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $135.00 to $126.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of TransUnion in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $103.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Wolfe Research raised shares of TransUnion from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $130.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of TransUnion in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set a "neutral" rating and a $110.00 target price for the company.

Insider Buying and Selling at TransUnion

In other TransUnion news, Director George M. Awad sold 12,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total transaction of $1,200,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 27,026 shares in the company, valued at $2,702,600. This trade represents a 30.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.66, for a total value of $158,490.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 62,988 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,655,312.08. This trade represents a 2.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 19,090 shares of company stock worth $1,916,758 over the last quarter. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TransUnion

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of TransUnion by 4.1% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 9,107 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $675,000 after buying an additional 361 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in TransUnion by 11.9% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,521,270 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $112,824,000 after acquiring an additional 161,791 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its position in shares of TransUnion by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 7,412 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $576,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 9.5% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 10,167 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $754,000 after purchasing an additional 886 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its stake in TransUnion by 0.7% in the second quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 17,822 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,322,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter.

TransUnion Price Performance

TRU stock traded up $0.48 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $95.26. 1,239,242 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,108,329. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $96.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $95.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. TransUnion has a 1-year low of $66.07 and a 1-year high of $113.17. The company has a market cap of $18.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 82.83, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.62.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.03. TransUnion had a return on equity of 15.38% and a net margin of 5.47%. The business had revenue of $1.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.80 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that TransUnion will post 3.44 earnings per share for the current year.

TransUnion Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.105 per share. This represents a $0.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. TransUnion's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.52%.

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.