TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) Receives $81.47 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the fifteen ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $81.60.

TRU has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on TransUnion from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on TransUnion from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. StockNews.com raised TransUnion from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of TransUnion from $69.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of TransUnion in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th.

TransUnion Stock Performance

Shares of TransUnion stock opened at $74.29 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $76.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.83. TransUnion has a 1-year low of $42.09 and a 1-year high of $82.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.08. TransUnion had a negative net margin of 7.50% and a positive return on equity of 13.58%. The business had revenue of $954.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $927.04 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.70 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that TransUnion will post 3.31 earnings per share for the current year.

TransUnion Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were paid a $0.105 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. This represents a $0.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. TransUnion’s payout ratio is -28.19%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Timothy J. Martin sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.59, for a total value of $943,080.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 54,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,284,883.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other TransUnion news, EVP Timothy J. Martin sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.59, for a total value of $943,080.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 54,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,284,883.98. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.30, for a total transaction of $144,307.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 75,099 shares in the company, valued at $6,105,548.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,275 shares of company stock valued at $1,204,538. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TransUnion

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its holdings in TransUnion by 63.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 10,221 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $734,000 after acquiring an additional 3,949 shares in the last quarter. DnB Asset Management AS boosted its stake in shares of TransUnion by 1.9% during the third quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 35,868 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,575,000 after purchasing an additional 680 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in TransUnion during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,063,000. Guidance Capital Inc. raised its stake in TransUnion by 6.9% in the third quarter. Guidance Capital Inc. now owns 8,242 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $568,000 after buying an additional 530 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in TransUnion by 2.9% during the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,730 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $483,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the period.

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.