William Blair Reaffirms “Outperform” Rating for TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reaffirmed by equities research analysts at William Blair in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,RTT News reports.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on TRU. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of TransUnion from $135.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of TransUnion from $103.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $121.00 price target on shares of TransUnion in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research note on Friday. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of TransUnion from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $107.63.

TransUnion Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:TRU traded down $0.68 on Friday, reaching $99.58. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 375,489 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,515,175. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $95.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $97.75. TransUnion has a 52-week low of $66.07 and a 52-week high of $113.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 86.54, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.63.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.14). TransUnion had a net margin of 5.47% and a return on equity of 15.38%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that TransUnion will post 3.44 EPS for the current year.

TransUnion declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to repurchase up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at TransUnion

In other TransUnion news, Director George M. Awad sold 12,000 shares of the business’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 value of $1,200,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 27,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,702,600. The trade was a 30.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Todd C. Skinner sold 3,090 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.48, for a total transaction of $313,573.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 24,333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,469,312.84. The trade was a 11.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 18,590 shares of company stock valued at $1,854,218. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TransUnion

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in TRU. Huntington National Bank raised its stake in shares of TransUnion by 84.5% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 286 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. 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 last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in TransUnion during the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in TransUnion during the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new position in shares of TransUnion in the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000.

About TransUnion

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.