Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Rating Lowered to Neutral at BNP Paribas

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) was downgraded by analysts at BNP Paribas from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note issued on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $265.00 price target on the credit services provider’s stock. BNP Paribas’ price target suggests a potential upside of 12.31% from the stock’s previous close.

EFX has been the topic of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Equifax from $304.00 to $283.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Equifax to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on shares of Equifax from $325.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Equifax from $335.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered shares of Equifax from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Equifax has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $298.47.

Equifax Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of EFX stock opened at $235.96 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $29.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. Equifax has a fifty-two week low of $213.02 and a fifty-two week high of $309.63. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $253.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $267.75.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12. Equifax had a net margin of 10.63% and a return on equity of 19.13%. On average, analysts anticipate that Equifax will post 7.58 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equifax

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Equifax by 39.0% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 10,843 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,775,000 after purchasing an additional 3,043 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its position in Equifax by 2.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 184,890 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $54,329,000 after acquiring an additional 5,097 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its position in Equifax by 84.1% in the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,016,000 after acquiring an additional 3,135 shares in the last quarter. NS Partners Ltd raised its position in Equifax by 2.3% in the third quarter. NS Partners Ltd now owns 95,010 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $27,920,000 after acquiring an additional 2,094 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Equifax in the fourth quarter worth about $3,572,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.