TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) Stock Rating Cut to Neutral at Rothschild Redburn

Key Points

• Rothschild Redburn downgraded TransUnion from Buy to Neutral, while raising its price target from $89 to $91—about 9.5% above the prior close.
• Analyst views are mixed: MarketBeat reports a consensus Hold rating and average price target of $90.72, with 10 Buy, 8 Hold, and 1 Sell ratings.
• TransUnion beat quarterly EPS estimates, reporting $1.25 versus $1.21 expected; revenue was $1.31 billion and grew 12.2% year over year.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Rothschild Redburn from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report issued on Monday, FinViz reports. They currently have a $91.00 price objective on the business services provider's stock, up from their previous price objective of $89.00. Rothschild Redburn's price objective points to a potential upside of 9.51% from the company's previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of TransUnion from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on TransUnion from $100.00 to $92.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Griffin Securities set a $98.00 price objective on TransUnion in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on TransUnion from $96.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on TransUnion from $85.00 to $70.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $90.72.

TransUnion Stock Performance

TRU stock opened at $83.10 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.85 billion, a PE ratio of 19.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.56. TransUnion has a 12-month low of $60.96 and a 12-month high of $89.12. The company has a current ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $74.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $74.16.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The business services provider reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. TransUnion had a return on equity of 16.51% and a net margin of 15.83%. The company's revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.10 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that TransUnion will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at TransUnion

In other news, CAO Jennifer A. Williams sold 1,070 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.57, for a total value of $90,489.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,327 shares in the company, valued at $365,934.39. This represents a 19.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.42, for a total value of $84,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 79,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,744,144.96. This represents a 1.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 32,754 shares of company stock worth $2,519,384. Insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of TransUnion in the second quarter worth $1,367,560,000. Ninety One UK Ltd boosted its stake in shares of TransUnion by 20.6% in the third quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 4,044,338 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $247,190,000 after acquiring an additional 689,649 shares during the period. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new stake in shares of TransUnion during the second quarter worth about $280,292,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of TransUnion by 8.5% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,740,326 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $258,794,000 after purchasing an additional 293,091 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meritage Group LP purchased a new stake in shares of TransUnion during the second quarter worth about $263,751,000.

About TransUnion

TransUnion is a global information and insights company that helps businesses assess risk, prevent fraud and make informed decisions. Its services include credit reporting and scoring, identity verification, fraud detection, and data and analytics solutions for industries such as financial services, retail, insurance and telecommunications.

The company also provides consumers with access to credit information and tools to monitor and manage their financial identities. Its offerings include credit reports, credit monitoring and identity-protection services.

Founded in 1968, TransUnion is headquartered in Chicago and serves customers in more than 30 countries.

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