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

Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $306.74.

EFX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group assumed coverage on Equifax in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $360.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Equifax from $277.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 target price on shares of Equifax in a report on Monday, October 28th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Equifax from $300.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Equifax from $290.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.92, for a total value of $272,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,269 shares in the company, valued at $3,075,535.48. This trade represents a 8.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 109,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,532,909.67. This trade represents a 34.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equifax

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EFX. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Equifax during the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its position in 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 buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equifax in the second quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equifax by 138.2% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 131 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equifax Stock Up 0.4 %

Equifax stock opened at $253.58 on Friday. Equifax has a 52 week low of $208.67 and a 52 week high of $309.63. The firm has a market cap of $31.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.59. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $277.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $267.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

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

Equifax Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. Equifax’s payout ratio is currently 34.67%.

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.