TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) Shares Could Be 32% Below Their Intrinsic Value Estimate

Key Insights

• Using the 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity, TransUnion fair value estimate is US$120

• Current share price of US$81.66 suggests TransUnion is potentially 32% undervalued

• Our fair value estimate is 30% higher than TransUnion's analyst price target of US$91.95

In this article we are going to estimate the intrinsic value of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) by taking the forecast future cash flows of the company and discounting them back to today's value. The Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model is the tool we will apply to do this. Don't get put off by the jargon, the math behind it is actually quite straightforward.

Companies can be valued in a lot of ways, so we would point out that a DCF is not perfect for every situation. If you want to learn more about discounted cash flow, the rationale behind this calculation can be read in detail in the Simply Wall St analysis model.

See our latest analysis for TransUnion

Is TransUnion Fairly Valued?

We use what is known as a 2-stage model, which simply means we have two different periods of growth rates for the company's cash flows. Generally the first stage is higher growth, and the second stage is a lower growth phase. To start off with, we need to estimate the next ten years of cash flows. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years.

Generally we assume that a dollar today is more valuable than a dollar in the future, so we discount the value of these future cash flows to their estimated value in today's dollars:

10-year free cash flow (FCF) forecast

	2024	2025	2026	2027	2028	2029	2030	2031	2032	2033
Levered FCF ($, Millions)	US$789.0m	US$951.3m	US$1.05b	US$1.17b	US$1.26b	US$1.33b	US$1.39b	US$1.45b	US$1.50b	US$1.54b
Growth Rate Estimate Source	Analyst x7	Analyst x4	Analyst x1	Analyst x1	Est @ 7.43%	Est @ 5.85%	Est @ 4.74%	Est @ 3.96%	Est @ 3.42%	Est @ 3.04%
Present Value ($, Millions) Discounted @ 7.3%	US$735	US$826	US$850	US$880	US$881	US$869	US$848	US$821	US$791	US$759

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)
Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = US$8.3b

The second stage is also known as Terminal Value, this is the business's cash flow after the first stage. For a number of reasons a very conservative growth rate is used that cannot exceed that of a country's GDP growth. In this case we have used the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield (2.2%) to estimate future growth. In the same way as with the 10-year 'growth' period, we discount future cash flows to today's value, using a cost of equity of 7.3%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF₂₀₃₃ × (1 + g) ÷ (r – g) = US$1.5b× (1 + 2.2%) ÷ (7.3%– 2.2%) = US$30b

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)¹⁰= US$30b÷ ( 1 + 7.3%)¹⁰= US$15b

The total value, or equity value, is then the sum of the present value of the future cash flows, which in this case is US$23b. The last step is to then divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Relative to the current share price of US$81.7, the company appears quite good value at a 32% discount to where the stock price trades currently. Valuations are imprecise instruments though, rather like a telescope - move a few degrees and end up in a different galaxy. Do keep this in mind.

dcf

Important Assumptions

The calculation above is very dependent on two assumptions. The first is the discount rate and the other is the cash flows. You don't have to agree with these inputs, I recommend redoing the calculations yourself and playing with them. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at TransUnion as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 7.3%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.040. Beta is a measure of a stock's volatility, compared to the market as a whole. We get our beta from the industry average beta of globally comparable companies, with an imposed limit between 0.8 and 2.0, which is a reasonable range for a stable business.

SWOT Analysis for TransUnion

Strength

• No major strengths identified for TRU.

Weakness

• Earnings declined over the past year.

• Interest payments on debt are not well covered.

• Dividend is low compared to the top 25% of dividend payers in the Professional Services market.

Opportunity

• Annual earnings are forecast to grow faster than the American market.

• Trading below our estimate of fair value by more than 20%.

Threat

• Debt is not well covered by operating cash flow.

• Annual revenue is forecast to grow slower than the American market.

Looking Ahead:

Although the valuation of a company is important, it shouldn't be the only metric you look at when researching a company. It's not possible to obtain a foolproof valuation with a DCF model. Rather it should be seen as a guide to "what assumptions need to be true for this stock to be under/overvalued?" For instance, if the terminal value growth rate is adjusted slightly, it can dramatically alter the overall result. Can we work out why the company is trading at a discount to intrinsic value? For TransUnion, there are three essential elements you should further research:

1. Risks: Take risks, for example - TransUnion has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.

2. Management:Have insiders been ramping up their shares to take advantage of the market's sentiment for TRU's future outlook? Check out our management and board analysis with insights on CEO compensation and governance factors.

3. Other High Quality Alternatives: Do you like a good all-rounder? Explore our interactive list of high quality stocks to get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing!

PS. Simply Wall St updates its DCF calculation for every American stock every day, so if you want to find the intrinsic value of any other stock just search here.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.