Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Stock Price Down 2.8% – Time to Sell?

Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) fell 2.8% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $285.01 and last traded at $285.33. 51,080 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 94% from the average session volume of 837,451 shares. The stock had previously closed at $293.50.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EFX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective 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. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Equifax from $272.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Equifax from $263.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Equifax from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Equifax from $250.00 to $271.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $306.95.

Equifax Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $34.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.58. 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 has a 50 day moving average price of $293.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $261.22.

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

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were given a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equifax

In other Equifax news, EVP Carla Chaney sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.85, for a total value of $845,550.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,065,118.75. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Equifax

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Czech National Bank boosted its position in Equifax by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 25,206 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $7,407,000 after buying an additional 1,651 shares during the period. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax in the second quarter valued at approximately $257,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in Equifax in the second quarter worth approximately $2,967,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in Equifax by 66.4% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,993 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $483,000 after purchasing an additional 795 shares during the period. Finally, Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Equifax during the 2nd quarter valued at $218,000. 96.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equifax Company Profile

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.