Dark Forest Capital Management LP Acquires New Position in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Dark Forest Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 3,127 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $290,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in TRU. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of TransUnion by 82.1% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 428 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of TransUnion during the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Huntington National Bank increased its position in shares of TransUnion by 58.7% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 454 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the period. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of TransUnion during the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Mizuho Bank Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of TransUnion during the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000.

Insider Buying and Selling at TransUnion

In other TransUnion news, EVP Venkat Achanta sold 1,821 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.74, for a total value of $174,342.54. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 105,443 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,095,112.82. The trade was a 1.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Steven M. Chaouki sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were 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 owns 58,488 shares in the company, valued at $5,611,923.60. The trade was a 1.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,021 shares of company stock worth $372,751. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

TransUnion Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TRU opened at $81.70 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $15.94 billion, a PE ratio of 55.96, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.67. The company’s fifty day moving average is $82.23 and its 200 day moving average is $92.72. TransUnion has a 52 week low of $66.38 and a 52 week high of $113.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.07 billion. TransUnion had a net margin of 6.80% and a return on equity of 15.85%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.92 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that TransUnion will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current year.

TransUnion declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, February 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to reacquire up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

TransUnion Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were given a $0.115 dividend. This is a boost from TransUnion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. TransUnion’s payout ratio is presently 24.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on TRU. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on TransUnion from $130.00 to $117.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of TransUnion in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of TransUnion from $120.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of TransUnion from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of TransUnion from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $109.38.

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.