Thomson Reuters (NASDAQ:TRI) Shares Up 6% - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Thomson Reuters shares rose 6% to about $103.18, although trading volume was well below average. The stock is up from its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.57, despite some target-price reductions.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.99 in EPS and $1.93 billion in revenue, with revenue up 9.5% year over year. Thomson Reuters also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.655, equivalent to a 2.5% yield.

Thomson Reuters Corp (NASDAQ:TRI - Get Free Report) shares traded up 6% on Monday . The company traded as high as $104.87 and last traded at $103.1830. Approximately 407,959 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 2,247,468 shares. The stock had previously closed at $97.35.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TRI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Scotiabank reissued a "sector outperform" rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Thomson Reuters in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $85.00 target price on Thomson Reuters and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Thomson Reuters from $115.00 to $98.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Scotia lowered their target price on Thomson Reuters from $138.00 to $135.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Thomson Reuters from $121.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $131.57.

Thomson Reuters Stock Up 8.9%

The company's fifty day moving average price is $99.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $93.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.93 billion, a PE ratio of 28.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Thomson Reuters (NASDAQ:TRI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.03. Thomson Reuters had a return on equity of 15.82% and a net margin of 21.22%.The company had revenue of $1.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.89 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.87 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Thomson Reuters Corp will post 4.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Thomson Reuters Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th were given a $0.655 dividend. This represents a $2.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 19th. Thomson Reuters's payout ratio is currently 69.68%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Thomson Reuters

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in TRI. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Thomson Reuters by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 493,071 shares of the company's stock worth $65,031,000 after purchasing an additional 46,680 shares during the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Thomson Reuters during the second quarter valued at $38,770,000. Vest Financial LLC increased its holdings in Thomson Reuters by 95.2% in the 2nd quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 93,557 shares of the company's stock worth $7,641,000 after buying an additional 45,618 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Thomson Reuters by 44,306.9% in the 2nd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 154,536 shares of the company's stock worth $12,621,000 after buying an additional 154,188 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc raised its position in Thomson Reuters by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 4,664,372 shares of the company's stock worth $616,342,000 after buying an additional 33,418 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 17.31% of the company's stock.

Thomson Reuters Company Profile

Thomson Reuters Corporation is a global provider of information, software, and technology solutions for professionals and institutions. Its products and services support legal professionals, corporations, tax and accounting firms, governments, and media organizations, helping customers manage regulatory requirements, research information, analyze data, and improve workflow efficiency.

The company's offerings include legal research and practice-management solutions, tax and accounting software, corporate compliance and risk-management tools, and products designed for government and regulatory users.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.