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

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) had its price objective reduced by Barclays from $105.00 to $85.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on TRU. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research note on Friday, February 14th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of TransUnion from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of TransUnion from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on TransUnion from $135.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, TransUnion currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $112.54.

TransUnion Stock Down 5.7 %

Shares of NYSE:TRU opened at $71.10 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.70. The stock has a market cap of $13.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.70. TransUnion has a 1-year low of $66.07 and a 1-year high of $113.17. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $90.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $96.48.

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

TransUnion announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan 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 reacquire up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are 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 issued a dividend of $0.115 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. This is a boost from TransUnion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. TransUnion’s payout ratio is currently 31.51%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.95, for a total value of $95,950.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 58,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,611,923.60. This represents a 1.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of TransUnion stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.74, for a total transaction of $174,342.54. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 105,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,095,112.82. The trade was a 1.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,021 shares of company stock worth $372,751 over the last 90 days. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TransUnion

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of TRU. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of TransUnion by 82.1% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 428 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of TransUnion during the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in shares of TransUnion by 58.7% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 454 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of TransUnion during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new position in shares of TransUnion during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $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.