Analyzing Experian (OTCMKTS:EXPGY) and TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Experian (OTCMKTS:EXPGY) and TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) are both large-cap business services companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations, risk, dividends and valuation.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

0.3% of Experian shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.1% of Experian shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of TransUnion shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for Experian and TransUnion, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Experian	0	1	0	1	3.00
TransUnion	1	4	10	0	2.60

TransUnion has a consensus target price of $112.46, suggesting a potential upside of 13.72%. Given TransUnion’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe TransUnion is more favorable than Experian.

Profitability

This table compares Experian and TransUnion’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Experian	N/A	N/A	N/A
TransUnion	8.99%	16.08%	6.47%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Experian and TransUnion”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Experian	$7.52 billion	6.47	$1.17 billion	N/A	N/A
TransUnion	$4.18 billion	4.60	$284.30 million	$2.00	49.45

Experian has higher revenue and earnings than TransUnion.

Risk and Volatility

Experian has a beta of 1.22, meaning that its share price is 22% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, TransUnion has a beta of 1.63, meaning that its share price is 63% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Experian pays an annual dividend of $0.81 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.5%. TransUnion pays an annual dividend of $0.46 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. TransUnion pays out 23.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. TransUnion has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years.

About Experian

Experian plc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a technology company in North America, Latin America, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It operates in two segments, Business-to-Business and Consumer Services. The company collects, sorts, aggregates, and transforms data from various sources to provide a range of data-driven services. It also owns, create, and develops analytics, predictive tools, sophisticated software, and platforms; credit risk, fraud prevention, identity management, customer service and engagement, account processing, and account management services; data analysis, and research and development services. In addition, the company provides credit education, free access to Experian credit reports and scores, and online educational tools. It serves its customers in financial service, direct-to-consumer, health, retail, automotive, software and professional services, telecoms and utility, insurance, media and technology, and other industries, as well as government and public sectors. The company was formerly known as Experian Group Limited and changed its name to Experian plc in July 2008. Experian plc was founded in 1826 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland.

About TransUnion

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. This segment serves various industry vertical markets, including financial services, technology, commerce and communications, insurance, media, services and collections, tenant and employment, and public sectors. The International segment offers credit reports, analytics, technology solutions, and other value-added risk management services; consumer services, which help consumers to manage their personal finances; consumer credit reporting, insurance and auto information solutions, and commercial credit information services. It serves customers in financial services, retail credit, insurance, automotive, collections, public sector, and communications industries through direct and indirect channels. The company was formerly known as TransUnion Holding Company, Inc. and changed its name to TransUnion in March 2015. TransUnion was founded in 1968 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.