Thomson Reuters (NYSE:TRI) Raised to Sector Outperform at Scotiabank

Key Points

• Thomson Reuters was upgraded from "sector perform" to "sector outperform" by Scotiabank, indicating a more favorable outlook for the company.
• Multiple analysts have increased their price targets for Thomson Reuters shares, with Barclays raising it to $210.00 and Wells Fargo to $213.00.
• The stock price saw a significant drop of 9.9%, trading at $179.97, despite analysts maintaining an average "Hold" rating with a consensus price target of $193.00.

Scotiabank upgraded shares of Thomson Reuters (NYSE:TRI - Free Report) TSE: TRI from a sector perform rating to a sector outperform rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have $200.00 target price on the business services provider's stock, up from their prior target price of $188.00.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Thomson Reuters from $185.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. CIBC boosted their price target on shares of Thomson Reuters from $174.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock an "outperformer" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. National Bankshares reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Thomson Reuters in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Thomson Reuters from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Thomson Reuters from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $194.20.

Thomson Reuters Price Performance

Thomson Reuters stock traded down $1.60 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $179.96. The company had a trading volume of 1,329,246 shares, compared to its average volume of 858,698. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $198.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $185.23. Thomson Reuters has a 1-year low of $151.60 and a 1-year high of $218.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.10 billion, a PE ratio of 36.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.02.

Thomson Reuters (NYSE:TRI - Get Free Report) TSE: TRI last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The business services provider reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.04. Thomson Reuters had a net margin of 30.45% and a return on equity of 14.62%. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.79 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.85 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Thomson Reuters will post 3.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Thomson Reuters Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.595 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $2.38 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Thomson Reuters's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.75%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Thomson Reuters

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of TRI. PFG Investments LLC raised its position in Thomson Reuters by 2.2% in the second quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 2,660 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $535,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in shares of Thomson Reuters by 1.5% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 4,456 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $770,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Thomson Reuters by 41.3% in the first quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 236 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in Thomson Reuters by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 8,426 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,695,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its position in Thomson Reuters by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 2,362 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $474,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. 17.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Thomson Reuters

Thomson Reuters Corporation engages in the provision of business information services in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It operates in five segments: Legal Professionals, Corporates, Tax & Accounting Professionals, Reuters News, and Global Print. The Legal Professionals segment offers research and workflow products focusing on legal research and integrated legal workflow solutions that combine content, tools, and analytics to law firms and governments.