Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Receives $306.95 Average PT from Brokerages

Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and sixteen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $307.74.

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Equifax from $277.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Equifax from $300.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Equifax from $250.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on shares of Equifax from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Equifax from $255.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Carla Chaney sold 3,000 shares of Equifax 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,875 shares in the company, valued at $3,065,118.75. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of EFX. Rafferty Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Equifax by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 12,342 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,052,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Equifax by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 6,101 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,509,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Equifax by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 53,461 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $13,220,000 after purchasing an additional 836 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Equifax by 70.2% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 739,492 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $182,869,000 after purchasing an additional 305,028 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in Equifax by 39.2% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 15,561 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,848,000 after buying an additional 4,380 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of Equifax stock opened at $285.09 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $294.15 and its 200 day moving average is $262.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.28 billion, a PE ratio of 60.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.58. Equifax has a 1 year low of $159.95 and a 1 year high of $309.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01.

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 net margin of 10.67% and a return on equity of 18.88%. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.71 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Equifax will post 7.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.33%.

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.