Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Raised to “Overweight” at Morgan Stanley

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) was upgraded by Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage presently has a $320.00 price objective on the credit services provider’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $275.00. Morgan Stanley’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 20.32% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on EFX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Equifax from $304.00 to $283.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 price target on shares of Equifax in a research note on Monday, October 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Equifax from $277.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Equifax from $290.00 to $333.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Equifax from $305.00 to $284.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $311.67.

Equifax Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of EFX opened at $265.95 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $32.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.10, a PEG ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 1.57. Equifax has a 52 week low of $213.02 and a 52 week high of $309.63. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $267.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $269.78. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The credit services provider reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.44 billion. Equifax had a return on equity of 18.56% and a net margin of 10.07%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.76 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Equifax will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Lisa M. Nelson sold 551 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.39, for a total value of $143,474.89. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,045,781.83. This represents a 4.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.49, for a total value of $15,770,648.96. Following the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 59,855 shares of company stock valued at $16,187,044 in the last three months. 1.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equifax

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Equifax in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Equifax by 76.1% in the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equifax in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Equifax by 138.2% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 131 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Equifax in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 96.20% of the stock is currently 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.