The Goldman Sachs Group Raises Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Price Target to $307.00

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) had its price objective hoisted by The Goldman Sachs Group from $277.00 to $307.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Citigroup upped their target price on Equifax from $263.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Equifax from $272.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Equifax from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Equifax in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. They issued an outperform rating and a $275.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Equifax from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $292.00.

Equifax Trading Up 1.9 %

EFX stock opened at $302.17 on Tuesday. Equifax has a one year low of $159.95 and a one year high of $303.88. The stock has a market cap of $37.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 67.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $263.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $253.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The credit services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.09. Equifax had a return on equity of 18.88% and a net margin of 10.67%. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.71 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Equifax will post 7.34 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 3rd. Equifax’s payout ratio is 34.74%.

Insider Activity

In other Equifax news, CFO John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 3,650 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.24, for a total transaction of $836,726.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 62,219 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,263,083.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CFO John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 3,650 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.24, for a total transaction of $836,726.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,219 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,263,083.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Carla Chaney sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.85, for a total transaction of $845,550.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,065,118.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equifax

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Equifax in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in Equifax in the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Equifax by 76.1% during the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equifax during the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax in the first quarter worth about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Company Profile

Equifax Inc operates as a data, analytics, and technology company. The company operates through three segments: Workforce Solutions, U.S. Information Solutions (USIS), and International. The Workforce Solutions segment offers services that enables customers to verify income, employment, educational history, criminal justice data, healthcare professional licensure, and sanctions of people in the United States; and employer customers with services that assist them in complying with and automating payroll-related and human resource management processes throughout the entire cycle of the employment relationship.