Bank of America Downgrades TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) to Underperform

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) was downgraded by research analysts at Bank of America from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have a $44.00 price target on the business services provider’s stock, down from their prior price target of $95.00. Bank of America‘s price target suggests a potential downside of 0.34% from the company’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on TransUnion from $91.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 26th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on TransUnion from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $97.00 target price on shares of TransUnion in a report on Monday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on TransUnion from $86.00 to $98.00 in a report on Monday, July 10th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on TransUnion from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $73.69.

TransUnion Price Performance

TRU stock opened at $44.15 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $73.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $73.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.53 billion, a PE ratio of -34.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.38. TransUnion has a 1 year low of $44.00 and a 1 year high of $82.75.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 24th. The business services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.95 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $968.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $982.95 million. TransUnion had a positive return on equity of 13.25% and a negative net margin of 6.53%. The company’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.85 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that TransUnion will post 3.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 949 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.03, for a total value of $73,101.47. Following the sale, the insider now owns 60,472 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,658,158.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Richard Dane Mauldin sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.02, for a total value of $154,040.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 21,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,631,360.62. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 949 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.03, for a total value of $73,101.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 60,472 shares in the company, valued at $4,658,158.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,738 shares of company stock worth $441,806 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in shares of TransUnion by 1,629.2% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 415 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new position in shares of TransUnion during the first quarter worth about $49,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in TransUnion by 166.3% in the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 474 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. KB Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in TransUnion by 86.5% in the first quarter. KB Financial Partners LLC now owns 485 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in TransUnion by 58.2% in the first quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 530 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the last quarter.

About TransUnion

TransUnion operates as a global consumer credit reporting agency that provides risk and information solutions. The company operates in three segments: U.S. Markets, International, and Consumer Interactive. 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.