TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) Short Interest Up 19.5% in March

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,390,000 shares, a growth of 19.5% from the February 28th total of 4,510,000 shares. Approximately 2.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,660,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.2 days.

Insider Transactions at TransUnion

In other news, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.95, for a total transaction of $95,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 58,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,611,923.60. This represents a 1.68 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were 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 approximately $10,095,112.82. The trade was a 1.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 3,021 shares of company stock valued at $289,441. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On TransUnion

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in TransUnion by 82.1% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 428 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of TransUnion in the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Huntington National Bank lifted its stake in shares of TransUnion by 58.7% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 454 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in TransUnion during the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new position in TransUnion in the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000.

TransUnion Trading Down 10.0 %

Shares of TransUnion stock traded down $8.53 on Thursday, hitting $77.20. 2,608,600 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,615,169. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The company has a market cap of $15.06 billion, a PE ratio of 52.79, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.70. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $91.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $96.84. TransUnion has a 52 week low of $66.07 and a 52 week high of $113.17.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. Equities research analysts predict that TransUnion will post 3.99 EPS for the current year.

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

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a $0.115 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. This is a positive change from TransUnion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. TransUnion’s dividend payout ratio is 31.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TRU has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research report on Monday, March 24th. UBS Group raised their price target on TransUnion from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of TransUnion from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of TransUnion from $135.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, TransUnion currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $114.08.

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.