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Barclays On TransUnion Earnings Beat: 'More Good Than Great'

EFX, IT, TRU | July 27, 2016

Despite the solid second-quarter earnings beat and an upward adjustment to guidance, Barclays views the quarterly performance of TransUnion (NYSE: TRU) as "more 'good' than 'great.'" The muted opinion was attributed to the company's 2016 guidance raise coming in lighter than expected.

Barclays analyst Manav Patnaik noted that the second-half outlook is essentially lowered by $3 million to $4 million, as the company re-invests some of its gains. Additionally, the softness expected by the company in consumer interactive is worse than that the firm was estimating. This, according to the analyst, is substantiating Barclays' preference for Equifax Inc. (NYSE: EFX), with the firm believing that workforce solutions will be an outsized growth driver.

The firm believes that the numbers provide a conservative enough base to provide continued beat-and-raises in the second half. However, Barclays is skeptical the results will appease investors, given the 28 percent run up in the stocks in the year-to-date period and with secondaries likely on the horizon.

According to the firm, only a few companies in its space, namely Gartner Inc (NYSE: IT) and Equifax are delivering growth closer to that of TransUnion. Noting that the compounded annual earnings growth rate of S&P companies is just over 5 percent over the next five to 10 years, Barclays said companies such as TransUnion, which are capable of delivering strong organic results and earnings growth deserve outsized valuation.

Consequently, Barclays raised it price target for TransUnion shares to $37 from $30.

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