Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $306.95.

EFX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Equifax from $263.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Equifax in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $360.00 target price on the stock. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on Equifax from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Equifax from $255.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Equifax from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th.

Equifax Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EFX opened at $283.49 on Friday. Equifax has a twelve month low of $159.95 and a twelve month high of $309.63. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $293.45 and its 200-day moving average is $261.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.14, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.58.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last released 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. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. Equifax had a net margin of 10.67% and a return on equity of 18.88%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.71 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Equifax will post 7.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were given a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equifax

In other news, EVP Carla Chaney sold 3,000 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.85, for a total transaction of $845,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,065,118.75. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rafferty Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Equifax by 5.1% in 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 during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in Equifax by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 6,101 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,509,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its holdings in Equifax by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 53,461 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $13,220,000 after acquiring an additional 836 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Equifax by 70.2% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 739,492 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $182,869,000 after acquiring an additional 305,028 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 39.2% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 15,561 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,848,000 after purchasing an additional 4,380 shares during the period. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.