TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) Shares Down 5% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• TransUnion's shares dropped 5% on a recent trading day, with the stock trading as low as $86.30, indicating a significant decline in market activity.
• Equities analysts are generally optimistic about the company, with an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $112.46, despite a recent cut to price targets from some firms.
• TransUnion reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, with net revenue of $1.14 billion, reflecting a 9.5% increase year-over-year.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Get Free Report)'s share price traded down 5% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $86.30 and last traded at $85.68. 562,229 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 2,046,088 shares. The stock had previously closed at $90.23.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of TransUnion from $120.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of TransUnion in a report on Friday, July 25th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $124.00 to $118.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $105.00 price target (up from $98.00) on shares of TransUnion in a research report on Friday, July 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, TransUnion presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $112.46.

TransUnion Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 2.03 and a quick ratio of 2.02. The business's fifty day moving average price is $90.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $87.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.99, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.65.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.09. TransUnion had a net margin of 8.99% and a return on equity of 16.08%. The company had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.10 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.99 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that TransUnion will post 3.99 EPS for the current year.

TransUnion Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 22nd will be given a $0.115 dividend. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 22nd. TransUnion's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.00%.

Insider Activity at TransUnion

In other news, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.14, for a total value of $87,140.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 74,393 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,482,606.02. This represents a 1.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Jennifer A. Williams sold 972 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.89, for a total transaction of $90,289.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,108 shares in the company, valued at $660,262.12. This represents a 12.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,972 shares of company stock valued at $262,339. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TransUnion

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new position in shares of TransUnion in the first quarter valued at $2,364,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 1.3% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,167,843 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $96,919,000 after purchasing an additional 15,030 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank grew its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 3.7% in the first quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 10,488 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $870,000 after purchasing an additional 373 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of TransUnion in the first quarter valued at $13,810,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 5.1% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 494,349 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $41,026,000 after purchasing an additional 23,979 shares in the last quarter.

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.

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