Morgan Stanley Upgrades Equifax (NYSE:EFX) to Overweight

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) was upgraded by Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a $320.00 target price on the credit services provider’s stock, up from their previous target price of $275.00. Morgan Stanley’s price target indicates a potential upside of 20.32% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on EFX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Equifax from $304.00 to $283.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Equifax in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $360.00 target price for the company. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of Equifax from $315.00 to $286.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Equifax from $277.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 target price on shares of Equifax in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equifax has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $311.67.

Equifax Price Performance

NYSE EFX opened at $265.95 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Equifax has a 12 month low of $213.02 and a 12 month high of $309.63. The stock has a market cap of $32.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.10, a PEG ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 1.57. The company’s 50 day moving average is $267.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $269.78.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The credit services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.01. Equifax had a return on equity of 18.56% and a net margin of 10.07%. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.76 EPS. Equifax’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Equifax will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equifax

In other news, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.92, for a total transaction of $272,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,269 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,075,535.48. This represents a 8.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.49, for a total value of $15,770,648.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 109,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,532,909.67. The trade was a 34.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 59,855 shares of company stock valued at $16,187,044. 1.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Equifax

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Equifax during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 76.1% during the second quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Crewe Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Equifax by 138.2% in the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 131 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Equifax in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Equifax

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.