Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Downgraded to Neutral Rating by BNP Paribas

BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Equifax (NYSE:EFX) from an outperform rating to a neutral rating in a research note published on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $265.00 target price on the credit services provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Equifax from $320.00 to $316.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wolfe Research cut Equifax from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on Equifax from $286.00 to $279.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Equifax to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Equifax from $321.00 to $313.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $298.47.

Equifax Stock Performance

NYSE EFX opened at $235.96 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market cap of $29.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.65. Equifax has a fifty-two week low of $213.02 and a fifty-two week high of $309.63. The business has a fifty day moving average of $253.55 and a 200-day moving average of $267.50.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12. Equifax had a return on equity of 19.13% and a net margin of 10.63%. As a group, analysts predict that Equifax will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is 32.30%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Equifax by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,389,505 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,667,165,000 after buying an additional 135,009 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Equifax by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,027,817 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,281,340,000 after purchasing an additional 679,688 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Equifax by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,816,186 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,415,284,000 after purchasing an additional 52,489 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Equifax by 37.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,233,744 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $950,268,000 after buying an additional 880,162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Equifax by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 3,123,701 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $796,075,000 after buying an additional 11,861 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

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.