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

BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Equifax (NYSE:EFX) from a neutral rating to an outperform rating in a research report released on Monday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has $305.00 price objective on the credit services provider’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 target price on shares of Equifax in a research note on Monday, October 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Equifax from $304.00 to $283.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays raised their target price on Equifax from $300.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on Equifax from $315.00 to $286.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on Equifax in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $360.00 price objective for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Equifax currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $311.39.

Equifax Stock Up 2.9 %

EFX stock opened at $273.54 on Monday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $267.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $270.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The company has a market cap of $33.91 billion, a PE ratio of 60.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 1.57. Equifax has a twelve month low of $213.02 and a twelve month high of $309.63.

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

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd were given a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equifax

In other news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.49, for a total transaction of $15,770,648.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 109,183 shares in the company, valued at $29,532,909.67. The trade was a 34.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.92, for a total transaction of $272,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,269 shares in the company, valued at $3,075,535.48. This represents a 8.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 59,855 shares of company stock worth $16,187,044. 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. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Equifax by 1.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,816,186 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,415,284,000 after buying an additional 52,489 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Equifax by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,276,798 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,036,952,000 after acquiring an additional 200,665 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Equifax by 37.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,233,744 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $950,268,000 after acquiring an additional 880,162 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Equifax by 2.4% during the second quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 3,044,561 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $738,184,000 after purchasing an additional 70,091 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Equifax by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,885,661 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $845,041,000 after buying an additional 29,742 shares during the period. 96.20% of the stock is 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.