Thomson Reuters (NYSE:TRI) Hits New 12-Month Low – Time to Sell?

Thomson Reuters Co. (NYSE:TRI) (TSE:TRI)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $81.91 and last traded at $83.20, with a volume of 2510238 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $86.89.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on TRI. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of Thomson Reuters from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $126.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley set a $116.00 price target on Thomson Reuters in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $156.00 price objective (down from $189.00) on shares of Thomson Reuters in a research note on Friday, February 6th. TD Securities restated a “buy” rating on shares of Thomson Reuters in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $165.00 target price on Thomson Reuters in a report on Friday, February 6th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $156.42.

Thomson Reuters Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $116.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $143.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a market cap of $37.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.01, a PEG ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 0.79.

Thomson Reuters (NYSE:TRI) (TSE:TRI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.01. Thomson Reuters had a return on equity of 14.62% and a net margin of 30.45%.The business had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.01 earnings per share. Thomson Reuters’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Thomson Reuters Co. will post 3.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Thomson Reuters Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be given a dividend of $0.655 per share. This is an increase from Thomson Reuters’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $2.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Thomson Reuters’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.68%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Thomson Reuters

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC boosted its stake in Thomson Reuters by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 1,414 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $284,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Thomson Reuters by 30.9% during the second quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 309 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of Thomson Reuters by 21.2% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 441 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in shares of Thomson Reuters by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,274 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $659,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. 17.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.