Thomson Reuters (NASDAQ:TRI) Downgraded by Zacks Research to “Strong Sell”

Zacks Research lowered shares of Thomson Reuters (NASDAQ:TRI) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research report released on Thursday morning,Zacks reports.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. RBC Dominion Securities upped their price objective on shares of Thomson Reuters from $124.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Thomson Reuters from $124.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Thomson Reuters in a research note on Tuesday, October 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $130.00 target price for the company. Scotiabank restated a “sector outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Thomson Reuters in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on shares of Thomson Reuters from $129.50 to $130.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 4th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $128.96.

Thomson Reuters Stock Up 0.0%

NASDAQ:TRI traded up $0.05 on Thursday, hitting $109.30. 1,380,309 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,895,142. 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 has a 50-day moving average price of $106.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $96.73. The company has a market cap of $47.38 billion, a PE ratio of 30.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.69.

Thomson Reuters (NASDAQ:TRI) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. Thomson Reuters had a net margin of 20.02% and a return on equity of 15.72%. Thomson Reuters’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 earned $0.85 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Thomson Reuters will post 4.20 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Thomson Reuters Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 18th will be issued a $0.6550 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 18th. This represents a $2.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. Thomson Reuters’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.18%.

Thomson Reuters declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, November 11th that permits the company to buy back $500 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 1.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Thomson Reuters

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its holdings in Thomson Reuters by 109.0% in the 2nd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 20,016 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,635,000 after acquiring an additional 10,439 shares during the period. NEOS Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Thomson Reuters by 10.1% during the 2nd quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 263,473 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,518,000 after acquiring an additional 24,264 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in Thomson Reuters by 2,206.6% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 17,461 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,426,000 after acquiring an additional 16,704 shares during the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp acquired a new position in Thomson Reuters during the 2nd quarter worth $38,770,000. Finally, BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Thomson Reuters during the second quarter valued at about $91,548,000. 17.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Thomson Reuters

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.