Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Reaches New 1-Year High Following Analyst Upgrade

Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Monday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $300.00 to $380.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Equifax traded as high as $308.98 and last traded at $308.07, with a volume of 47442 shares. The stock had previously closed at $306.75.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on EFX. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Equifax to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on shares of Equifax from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Equifax from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Equifax in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $275.00 target price for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Equifax from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equifax has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $301.59.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Equifax news, EVP Carla Chaney sold 3,000 shares of the 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 owns 10,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,065,118.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in Equifax during the first quarter worth about $30,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Equifax by 76.1% in 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 period. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Equifax in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Equifax in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its stake 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 valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Trading Down 2.1 %

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $283.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $258.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market cap of $36.82 billion, a PE ratio of 66.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.58.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The credit services provider reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.71 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Equifax Inc. will post 7.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.74%.

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.