TransUnion (TRU) Competitors

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) and Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) are both large-cap business services companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, media sentiment, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends and risk.

Which has higher valuation & earnings, TRU or WCN?

Waste Connections has higher revenue and earnings than TransUnion. TransUnion is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Waste Connections, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
TransUnion	$4.18B	4.27	$284.30M	$1.88	48.73
Waste Connections	$8.92B	5.21	$617.57M	$2.43	74.01

Do analysts rate TRU or WCN?

TransUnion currently has a consensus target price of $109.69, suggesting a potential upside of 19.74%. Waste Connections has a consensus target price of $212.29, suggesting a potential upside of 18.03%. Given TransUnion's higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe TransUnion is more favorable than Waste Connections.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
TransUnion	1 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	9 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.57
Waste Connections	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	12 Buy rating(s)	4 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.05

Is TRU or WCN a better dividend stock?

TransUnion pays an annual dividend of $0.46 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. Waste Connections pays an annual dividend of $1.26 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. TransUnion pays out 24.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Waste Connections pays out 51.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. TransUnion has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years and Waste Connections has increased its dividend for 8 consecutive years. Waste Connections is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Which has more volatility & risk, TRU or WCN?

TransUnion has a beta of 1.63, meaning that its stock price is 63% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Waste Connections has a beta of 0.6, meaning that its stock price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do institutionals and insiders believe in TRU or WCN?

86.1% of Waste Connections shares are held by institutional investors. 0.2% of TransUnion shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Waste Connections shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Does the media prefer TRU or WCN?

In the previous week, Waste Connections had 13 more articles in the media than TransUnion. MarketBeat recorded 24 mentions for Waste Connections and 11 mentions for TransUnion. TransUnion's average media sentiment score of 1.15 beat Waste Connections' score of 0.40 indicating that TransUnion is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
TransUnion	10 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Waste Connections	10 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	5 Negative mention(s)	2 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Is TRU or WCN more profitable?

TransUnion has a net margin of 8.63% compared to Waste Connections' net margin of 6.93%. TransUnion's return on equity of 16.18% beat Waste Connections' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
TransUnion	8.63%	16.18%	6.38%
Waste Connections	6.93%	15.74%	6.36%

Summary

Waste Connections beats TransUnion on 13 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.