Barclays Cuts TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) Price Target to $85.00

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) had its target price trimmed by Barclays from $105.00 to $85.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on TransUnion from $135.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on TransUnion from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group upped their price target on TransUnion from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of TransUnion in a report on Friday, February 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $112.54.

TransUnion Stock Down 5.7 %

TransUnion stock opened at $71.10 on Friday. TransUnion has a fifty-two week low of $66.07 and a fifty-two week high of $113.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 1.70. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $90.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $96.42. The stock has a market cap of $13.87 billion, a PE ratio of 48.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.70.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. TransUnion had a net margin of 6.80% and a return on equity of 15.85%. Research analysts predict that TransUnion will post 3.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TransUnion announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 13th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to repurchase up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a dividend of $0.115 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. This is a boost from TransUnion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. TransUnion’s payout ratio is currently 31.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling at TransUnion

In related news, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.74, for a total value of $174,342.54. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 105,443 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,095,112.82. This represents a 1.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of TransUnion stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.95, for a total transaction of $95,950.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 58,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,611,923.60. The trade was a 1.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,021 shares of company stock valued at $372,751 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TransUnion

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in TransUnion by 2.7% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 10,429 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,092,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors bought a new position in shares of TransUnion during the 3rd quarter valued at about $892,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. bought a new position in shares of TransUnion during the 3rd quarter valued at about $676,000. Hilltop Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in TransUnion in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $357,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in TransUnion by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 6,453 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $674,000 after buying an additional 819 shares during the last quarter.

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.