Barclays Boosts Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Price Target to $380.00

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) had its price objective hoisted by Barclays from $300.00 to $380.00 in a research note released on Friday, Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Equifax from $273.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Equifax from $250.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Thursday. Robert W. Baird increased their target price 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. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Equifax in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. They set an outperform rating and a $275.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Equifax from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $301.59.

Equifax Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:EFX opened at $306.75 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $282.61 and its 200 day moving average is $258.12. Equifax has a 12 month low of $159.95 and a 12 month high of $308.54. The company has a market capitalization of $37.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 68.32, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.58.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The credit services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.09. Equifax had a net margin of 10.67% and a return on equity of 18.88%. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.71 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Equifax will post 7.33 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is 34.74%.

Insider Activity

In other Equifax news, EVP Carla Chaney sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.85, for a total value 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. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equifax

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Equifax by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 292,914 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $78,360,000 after acquiring an additional 3,164 shares during the period. Weitz Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Equifax by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Weitz Investment Management Inc. now owns 153,500 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $37,959,000 after buying an additional 7,500 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in Equifax in the 4th quarter worth about $917,000. Bridgefront Capital LLC bought a new position in Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,274,000. Finally, Novak & Powell Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Equifax during the fourth quarter worth $972,000. 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.