Thomson Reuters (NYSE:TRI) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Thomson Reuters Co. (NYSE:TRI) (TSE:TRI) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $199.11 and last traded at $196.29, with a volume of 217338 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $198.65.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on TRI. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Thomson Reuters from $182.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Thomson Reuters from $165.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Thomson Reuters from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on Thomson Reuters from $164.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Thomson Reuters from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Thomson Reuters currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $183.70.

Thomson Reuters Stock Down 0.6%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a market capitalization of $88.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.38, a P/E/G ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 0.75. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $182.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $172.60.

Thomson Reuters (NYSE:TRI) (TSE:TRI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The business services provider reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.07. Thomson Reuters had a return on equity of 14.62% and a net margin of 30.45%. The business had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.11 earnings per share. Thomson Reuters’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Thomson Reuters Co. will post 3.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Thomson Reuters Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.595 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $2.38 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. Thomson Reuters’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.69%.

Institutional Trading of Thomson Reuters

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in shares of Thomson Reuters by 1.5% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 4,456 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $770,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Thomson Reuters during the 1st quarter worth $216,000. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new position in Thomson Reuters in the 1st quarter worth about $965,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Thomson Reuters in the 1st quarter worth about $205,000. Finally, Guardian Partners Inc. grew its position in shares of Thomson Reuters by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Guardian Partners Inc. now owns 21,021 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,698,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. 17.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Thomson Reuters

Thomson Reuters Corporation engages in the provision of business information services in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It operates in five segments: Legal Professionals, Corporates, Tax & Accounting Professionals, Reuters News, and Global Print. The Legal Professionals segment offers research and workflow products focusing on legal research and integrated legal workflow solutions that combine content, tools, and analytics to law firms and governments.