Thomson is your COVID-19 bright spot

Article Excerpt

Thomson has gained 12% for our readers in the past year, even with the COVID-19 downturn. That’s mainly because it continues to unlock the huge value of its financial information business. The company’s remaining tax and legal businesses should also benefit as businesses navigate the varying impact of coronavirus relief bills. THOMSON REUTERS CORP. $96 remains a buy. The company (Toronto symbol TRI; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares o/s: 495.7 million; Market cap: $47.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 8.0; Dividend yield: 2.2%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.thomsonreuters.com) continues to enhance investor value with its plan to focus on selling specialized information to professionals in the legal, and tax and accounting fields. It also owns the Reuters news service. The transformation picked up speed in October 2018 when Thomson sold 55% of its Financial & Risk business (now called Refinitiv) to a consortium led by Blackstone Group LP (New York symbol BX). Refinitiv sells specialized information products to financial clients such as banks and brokerages. In exchange,…