Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Upgraded by BNP Paribas to “Neutral”

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) was upgraded by analysts at BNP Paribas from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note issued on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage currently has a $310.00 target price on the credit services provider’s stock. BNP Paribas’ price target would suggest a potential upside of 4.18% from the stock’s current price.

EFX has been the topic of several other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Equifax from $273.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Equifax from $250.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Equifax from $277.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Equifax from $272.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Equifax from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $302.06.

Equifax Price Performance

Shares of EFX stock opened at $297.57 on Thursday. Equifax has a twelve month low of $159.95 and a twelve month high of $309.63. The company has a market capitalization of $36.78 billion, a PE ratio of 66.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $285.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $258.53.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The credit services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.71 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Equifax will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Carla Chaney sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.85, for a total value 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. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in Equifax by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,045,398 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,757,425,000 after acquiring an additional 342,170 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Equifax by 1.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,033,448 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,754,228,000 after purchasing an additional 137,961 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Equifax by 4.9% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,276,798 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,036,952,000 after buying an additional 200,665 shares in the last quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP grew its position in Equifax by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP now owns 3,856,248 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $953,612,000 after buying an additional 298,846 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Equifax by 2.4% in the second quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 3,044,561 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $738,184,000 after buying an additional 70,091 shares in the last quarter. 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.