Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Receives $310.47 Consensus PT from Analysts

Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $310.47.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on EFX. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Equifax from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Equifax in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $360.00 price objective on the stock. BNP Paribas raised shares of Equifax from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $310.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Equifax from $255.00 to $286.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Equifax from $290.00 to $333.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th.

Equifax Price Performance

EFX opened at $264.39 on Wednesday. Equifax has a one year low of $170.62 and a one year high of $309.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $289.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $264.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.58.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The credit services provider reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.01. Equifax had a net margin of 10.07% and a return on equity of 18.56%. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.76 earnings per share. Equifax’s revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Equifax will post 7.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.59%. Equifax’s payout ratio is currently 34.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equifax

In other Equifax news, EVP Carla Chaney sold 3,000 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.85, for a total value of $845,550.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,065,118.75. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of Equifax 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,269 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,075,535.48. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Carla Chaney sold 3,000 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 62,304 shares of company stock worth $16,889,119. Insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 6,588 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,936,000 after buying an additional 527 shares during the period. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equifax during the 3rd quarter worth about $769,000. Portside Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,297 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $381,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the period. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS boosted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 27.2% during the 3rd quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 48,862 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $14,359,000 after buying an additional 10,450 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 147,448 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $43,329,000 after buying an additional 8,500 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

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.