TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) Share Price Passes Below 50 Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)’s share price crossed below its fifty day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a fifty day moving average of $98.99 and traded as low as $91.17. TransUnion shares last traded at $91.85, with a volume of 950,978 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of TransUnion from $103.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of TransUnion from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on TransUnion from $122.00 to $115.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Barclays lifted their price objective on TransUnion from $80.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $107.06.

TransUnion Trading Up 0.5 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.98 billion, a PE ratio of 80.24, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.62. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $98.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $94.17.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. TransUnion had a net margin of 5.47% and a return on equity of 15.38%. The company’s revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.80 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that TransUnion will post 3.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TransUnion Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were given a dividend of $0.105 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $0.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. TransUnion’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director George M. Awad sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total transaction of $1,200,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 27,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,702,600. This represents a 30.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.60, for a total value of $93,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 59,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,568,076.80. This represents a 1.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 19,090 shares of company stock valued at $1,916,758. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TransUnion

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in TransUnion by 24.1% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,468,854 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $257,250,000 after purchasing an additional 674,187 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its position in shares of TransUnion by 12.1% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,308,028 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $136,951,000 after buying an additional 140,952 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of TransUnion by 307.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,540,896 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $475,432,000 after acquiring an additional 3,427,199 shares during the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in TransUnion during the second quarter valued at about $493,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors bought a new stake in TransUnion during the third quarter worth about $892,000.

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.