Thomson Reuters (NYSE:TRI) Trading Up 6% – Should You Buy?

Thomson Reuters Co. (NYSE:TRI) (TSE:TRI) shot up 6% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $105.55 and last traded at $105.44. 2,343,707 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 17% from the average session volume of 2,823,139 shares. The stock had previously closed at $99.49.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on TRI shares. Morgan Stanley set a $116.00 price objective on shares of Thomson Reuters in a research note on Friday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Thomson Reuters from $160.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $140.00 price objective on Thomson Reuters and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised Thomson Reuters from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $126.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price objective on Thomson Reuters from $174.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $156.42.

Thomson Reuters Price Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $110.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $137.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.59 billion, a PE ratio of 22.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 0.81.

Thomson Reuters (NYSE:TRI) (TSE:TRI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.01. Thomson Reuters had a return on equity of 14.62% and a net margin of 30.45%.The firm had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.01 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Thomson Reuters Co. will post 3.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Thomson Reuters Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be issued a $0.655 dividend. This represents a $2.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. This is a positive change from Thomson Reuters’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Thomson Reuters’s payout ratio is currently 78.68%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Thomson Reuters during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Thomson Reuters during the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. AlphaCore Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Thomson Reuters during the 2nd quarter worth about $39,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its holdings in Thomson Reuters by 50.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 249 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Finally, Timmons Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Thomson Reuters during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 17.31% of the company’s stock.

About Thomson Reuters

Thomson Reuters (NYSE: TRI) is a multinational information and media company that provides content, technology and services to professionals in the legal, tax & accounting, compliance, risk, corporate and media sectors. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, the company combines news and editorial content from the Reuters news agency with specialist workflow platforms and databases designed to support decision-making and regulatory compliance across industries worldwide.

The company’s product portfolio spans legal research and workflow tools, tax and accounting software, regulatory and risk management solutions, and real-time news and data services.