TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) Rating Lowered to Strong Sell at Zacks Research

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) was downgraded by Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report released on Thursday, Zacks reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on TRU. Robert W. Baird set a $99.00 price objective on shares of TransUnion in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of TransUnion from $85.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 2nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of TransUnion from $85.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of TransUnion from $96.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Griffin Securities set a $98.00 price target on shares of TransUnion in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $90.69.

TransUnion Stock Performance

NYSE:TRU opened at $76.74 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. TransUnion has a 12-month low of $60.96 and a 12-month high of $89.12. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $74.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $74.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.58.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The business services provider reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.04. TransUnion had a return on equity of 16.51% and a net margin of 15.83%. The company had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.10 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that TransUnion will post 4.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at TransUnion

In other news, EVP Mohamed Abdelsadek sold 397 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total value of $29,775.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 52,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,921,300. This trade represents a 0.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Steven Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $70,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 78,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,522,160. This represents a 1.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 41,377 shares of company stock valued at $3,200,570. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of TransUnion

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of TransUnion by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,536 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $806,000 after buying an additional 1,053 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in TransUnion during the third quarter worth about $85,000. Peak Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in TransUnion in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,843,000. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 42.6% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 887 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of TransUnion during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $532,000.

TransUnion News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting TransUnion this week:

• Positive Sentiment: RBC Capital maintained a Buy rating on TransUnion, indicating continued confidence in the company’s growth outlook. RBC Capital Remains a Buy on TransUnion
• Positive Sentiment: Needham & Company projected substantial potential appreciation for TRU, providing a bullish counterpoint to recent target-price reductions. Needham Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for TransUnion
• Positive Sentiment: A third-quarter review highlighted international strength and insurance diversification as important offsets to mortgage-market headwinds. TransUnion’s latest reported quarter also showed 12.2% year-over-year revenue growth and earnings above consensus. TRU Q3 Deep Dive
• Neutral Sentiment: Bank of America Securities assigned TransUnion a Hold rating, suggesting the current valuation and outlook are broadly balanced. TransUnion Gets a Hold from Bank of America
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst discussion following the third-quarter earnings call focused on key questions around growth drivers, demand trends and the company’s outlook. Five Analyst Questions from TransUnion’s Q3 Earnings Call
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research downgraded TRU from Hold to Strong Sell, the most significant negative rating signal in the latest news. Zacks Research Ratings
• Negative Sentiment: Stifel lowered its expectations for TransUnion’s stock price, while the shares were reported to have fallen below their 200-day moving average after an analyst downgrade—both signs of technical and sentiment pressure. Stifel Lowers TransUnion Price Expectations TransUnion Breaks Below 200-Day Moving Average

TransUnion Company Profile

TransUnion (NYSE: TRU) is a global information and insights company that helps businesses and consumers make more informed decisions. The company collects, analyzes and delivers data related to credit, identity, fraud and consumer behavior, serving customers across financial services, insurance, healthcare, retail, telecommunications and other industries.

Its products and services include consumer credit reports and scores, credit-risk assessment, marketing and audience insights, identity verification, fraud detection, investigative tools and decisioning software.