TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Get Free Report) was the target of a large decline in short interest during the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,870,000 shares, a decline of 18.3% from the April 30th total of 5,960,000 shares. Currently, 2.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 2,220,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.2 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other TransUnion news, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of TransUnion stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.96, for a total value of $82,960.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 76,393 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,337,563.28. The trade was a 1.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 3,000 shares of company stock valued at $251,180 in the last quarter. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On TransUnion

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its position in TransUnion by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 10,311 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $956,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of TransUnion by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 3,608 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $334,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of TransUnion by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,642 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $245,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC raised its position in shares of TransUnion by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 11,380 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $944,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of TransUnion by 28.8% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 733 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares in the last quarter.

TransUnion Trading Up 0.2%

TRU traded up $0.15 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $86.20. 2,365,176 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,721,468. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $81.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $89.40. TransUnion has a 52-week low of $66.38 and a 52-week high of $113.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.82 billion, a PE ratio of 59.04, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.67.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. TransUnion had a return on equity of 15.85% and a net margin of 6.80%. TransUnion's revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.92 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that TransUnion will post 3.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TransUnion Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.115 per share. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. TransUnion's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.47%.

TransUnion announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 13th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to purchase up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TRU has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on TransUnion from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on TransUnion from $130.00 to $117.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Barclays dropped their target price on TransUnion from $105.00 to $85.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 4th. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of TransUnion in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on TransUnion from $120.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, TransUnion currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $109.69.

TransUnion Company 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.