Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Price Target Raised to $304.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) had its target price lifted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $300.00 to $304.00 in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Equifax from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Equifax from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Equifax from $375.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 target price on shares of Equifax in a report on Friday. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of Equifax from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $310.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $310.47.

Equifax Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of EFX opened at $275.76 on Friday. Equifax has a fifty-two week low of $159.95 and a fifty-two week high of $309.63. The company’s fifty day moving average is $294.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $263.04. The firm has a market cap of $34.09 billion, a PE ratio of 61.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The credit services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.01. Equifax had a return on equity of 18.88% and a net margin of 10.67%. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.76 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Equifax will post 7.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equifax

In other news, EVP Carla Chaney sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,065,118.75. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equifax

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Conning Inc. lifted its holdings in Equifax by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 848 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $206,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Equifax by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 3,726 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $903,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Thompson Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Equifax by 0.3% during the second quarter. Thompson Investment Management Inc. now owns 15,464 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,749,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its stake in Equifax by 5.1% during the first quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,038 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $278,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Equifax by 76.1% during the second quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. 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.