Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Takes Position in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has acquired 4,416 shares of TransUnion, valued at approximately $366,000, as part of its first quarter investments.
• Several institutional investors, including Teacher Retirement System of Texas and Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc., have recently adjusted their positions in TransUnion, indicating growing interest in the stock.
• TransUnion reported a quarterly EPS of $1.08, exceeding analysts' expectations, with a revenue increase of 9.5% year-over-year.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 4,416 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $366,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in TRU. Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new position in shares of TransUnion in the first quarter worth $2,364,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in TransUnion by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,167,843 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $96,919,000 after buying an additional 15,030 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank raised its position in TransUnion by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 10,488 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $870,000 after buying an additional 373 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in TransUnion during the 1st quarter valued at about $13,810,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 494,349 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $41,026,000 after acquiring an additional 23,979 shares during the last quarter.

TransUnion Price Performance

NYSE TRU opened at $90.59 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. TransUnion has a 12 month low of $66.38 and a 12 month high of $113.17. The stock has a market cap of $17.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.30, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.65. The company's 50 day moving average is $90.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $87.92.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.09. TransUnion had a net margin of 8.99% and a return on equity of 16.08%. The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.10 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.99 EPS. The company's revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that TransUnion will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.14, for a total value of $87,140.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 74,393 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,482,606.02. The trade was a 1.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Jennifer A. Williams sold 972 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.89, for a total transaction of $90,289.08. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,108 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $660,262.12. This trade represents a 12.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,972 shares of company stock valued at $262,339 in the last quarter. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on TRU. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $105.00 price objective (up from $98.00) on shares of TransUnion in a report on Friday, July 25th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of TransUnion in a report on Friday, July 25th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on TransUnion from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on TransUnion from $120.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded TransUnion from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, August 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $112.46.

TransUnion Profile

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.

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