TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) Coverage Initiated at Bank of America

Stock analysts at Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday. The brokerage set an “underperform” rating and a $84.00 price target on the business services provider’s stock. Bank of America‘s price target would suggest a potential upside of 16.05% from the stock’s previous close.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $105.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Oppenheimer cut their price target on TransUnion from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of TransUnion from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, TransUnion has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $111.92.

TransUnion Price Performance

Shares of TransUnion stock opened at $72.39 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.58, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.67. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $86.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $95.02. TransUnion has a 12 month low of $66.07 and a 12 month high of $113.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.70.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.14). TransUnion had a net margin of 6.80% and a return on equity of 15.85%. The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. As a group, analysts predict that TransUnion will post 3.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TransUnion announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to buy up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at TransUnion

In other TransUnion news, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.95, for a total transaction of $95,950.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 58,488 shares in the company, valued at $5,611,923.60. This represents a 1.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.74, for a total transaction of $174,342.54. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 105,443 shares in the company, valued at $10,095,112.82. This represents a 1.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,021 shares of company stock valued at $372,751 over the last quarter. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TransUnion

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in TransUnion by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 700,518 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $64,945,000 after purchasing an additional 22,826 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in TransUnion by 62.1% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,097 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $194,000 after purchasing an additional 803 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of TransUnion by 22.0% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 26,308 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,439,000 after buying an additional 4,743 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of TransUnion by 39.5% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 315,530 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,253,000 after buying an additional 89,340 shares during the period. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of TransUnion by 14.5% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 6,453 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $674,000 after buying an additional 819 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.