Thomson Reuters Corp (NASDAQ:TRI) Stock Now Rated “Moderate Buy” by Wall Street Brokerages

Shares of Thomson Reuters Corp (NASDAQ:TRI) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $128.96.

A number of analysts have weighed in on TRI shares. Morgan Stanley set a $110.00 price target on Thomson Reuters and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Thomson Reuters in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Barclays cut their price objective on Thomson Reuters from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Thomson Reuters from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Thomson Reuters from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, November 7th.

Thomson Reuters News Roundup

Here’s some of the latest news about TRI:

• Positive Sentiment: The company authorized repurchases of up to 7 million shares through open-market purchases. Buybacks can support per-share earnings by reducing the share count and may signal management’s confidence in the company’s valuation, although the authorization does not guarantee that all shares will be bought. Details of Thomson Reuters’ equity buyback

Thomson Reuters Stock Up 0.4%

Thomson Reuters stock opened at $108.83 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Thomson Reuters has a 1-year low of $76.28 and a 1-year high of $142.04. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $106.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $96.87. The company has a market capitalization of $47.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.69.

Thomson Reuters (NASDAQ:TRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 3rd. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $1.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. Thomson Reuters had a return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 20.02%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.85 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Thomson Reuters will post 4.20 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Thomson Reuters declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, November 11th that permits the company to buy back $500 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 1.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Share repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Thomson Reuters Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.6550 per share. This represents a $2.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 18th. Thomson Reuters’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.18%.

Institutional Trading of Thomson Reuters

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Thomson Reuters by 48.7% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,627,069 shares of the company’s stock valued at $146,404,000 after buying an additional 532,803 shares during the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its holdings in Thomson Reuters by 13.2% during the third quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 1,468,484 shares of the company’s stock valued at $143,304,000 after acquiring an additional 171,375 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Thomson Reuters by 33.3% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,588,756 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,956,000 after acquiring an additional 397,150 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in Thomson Reuters by 65.1% during the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,500,365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $135,297,000 after acquiring an additional 591,642 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in shares of Thomson Reuters in the second quarter valued at about $107,223,000. 17.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Thomson Reuters Company Profile

Thomson Reuters is a global provider of information, software and services for legal, tax, accounting, compliance, risk and financial professionals. Its products help customers research complex issues, manage workflows and make informed decisions. Key offerings include Westlaw and Practical Law for legal research and practice management, Checkpoint for tax and accounting research, and ONESOURCE for tax and trade compliance. The company also provides news and information through Reuters, its global news organization.