TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the fifteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $81.47.

TRU has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on TransUnion from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on TransUnion from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. StockNews.com upgraded TransUnion from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on TransUnion from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of TransUnion in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th.

Insider Buying and Selling at TransUnion

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On TransUnion

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of TransUnion by 11.2% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,095 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $487,000 after acquiring an additional 715 shares in the last quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in TransUnion in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,006,000. Heron Bay Capital Management grew its stake in shares of TransUnion by 37.3% in the 4th quarter. Heron Bay Capital Management now owns 172,458 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $11,850,000 after buying an additional 46,826 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of TransUnion by 204.6% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 45,126 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,101,000 after buying an additional 30,312 shares during the period. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC grew its stake in shares of TransUnion by 607.6% in the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 20,917 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,446,000 after buying an additional 17,961 shares during the period.

TransUnion Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of TransUnion stock traded down $0.30 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $66.71. The company had a trading volume of 2,258,432 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,651,539. The company has a 50 day moving average of $76.70 and a 200 day moving average of $67.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 1.47. TransUnion has a 52-week low of $42.09 and a 52-week high of $82.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.96 billion, a P/E ratio of -44.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.61.

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

TransUnion Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $0.105 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 6th. This represents a $0.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.63%. TransUnion's dividend payout ratio is presently -28.19%.

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.