Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Upgraded at Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Equifax (NYSE:EFX) from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm currently has $300.00 target price on the credit services provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Equifax from $340.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Equifax from $335.00 to $310.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Equifax from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, March 14th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Equifax in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Argus downgraded shares of Equifax from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $298.56.

Equifax Price Performance

EFX stock opened at $244.06 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $252.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $265.52. The stock has a market cap of $30.27 billion, a PE ratio of 50.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. Equifax has a 1 year low of $213.02 and a 1 year high of $309.63.

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

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.30%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Equifax by 21.6% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,583 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,226,000 after acquiring an additional 2,948 shares during the last quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH increased its stake in Equifax by 3,372.2% in the fourth quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 46,527 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $11,857,000 after acquiring an additional 45,187 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in Equifax in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,964,000. Integrated Advisors Network LLC increased its stake in Equifax by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 1,595 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $406,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Equifax during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. 96.20% of the stock is owned by 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.