Thomson Reuters (NYSE:TRI) Shares Down 5.1% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Thomson Reuters shares fell 5.1% on Thursday, dropping to $160.66, with trading volume surging to approximately 1.87 million shares.
• Analysts' ratings have been mixed, with Morgan Stanley cutting its target price to $187.00, while several other firms maintained "outperform" ratings with varied price targets.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.87, surpassing estimates, and announced a dividend of $0.595 per share, giving it a dividend yield of 1.5%.

Thomson Reuters Co. (NYSE:TRI - Get Free Report) TSE: TRI fell 5.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $160.95 and last traded at $160.66. 1,869,996 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 107% from the average session volume of 904,674 shares. The stock had previously closed at $169.21.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on TRI. National Bankshares restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Thomson Reuters in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Thomson Reuters from $215.00 to $208.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on shares of Thomson Reuters from $181.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Scotiabank raised shares of Thomson Reuters from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $188.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, CIBC raised shares of Thomson Reuters from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Thomson Reuters currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $202.82.

Thomson Reuters Trading Up 0.4%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $184.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $185.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.35, a P/E/G ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 0.74.

Thomson Reuters (NYSE:TRI - Get Free Report) TSE: TRI last released its quarterly earnings data 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 the consensus estimate of $1.79 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.85 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Thomson Reuters Co. will post 3.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Thomson Reuters Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th were paid a $0.595 dividend. This represents a $2.38 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 19th. Thomson Reuters's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.75%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of TRI. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its position in Thomson Reuters by 148.5% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 21,944 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,236,000 after purchasing an additional 13,114 shares during the period. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC lifted its position in Thomson Reuters by 4.3% during the second quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 25,315 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $5,092,000 after purchasing an additional 1,051 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Thomson Reuters during the second quarter valued at $217,000. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Thomson Reuters during the second quarter valued at $5,249,000. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its position in Thomson Reuters by 0.8% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 13,098 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,629,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. 17.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Thomson Reuters Company Profile

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.