Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $310.47.

EFX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Equifax in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $275.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Equifax from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays upped their price objective on Equifax from $300.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Equifax from $277.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Equifax from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th.

Insider Transactions at Equifax

In other news, EVP Carla Chaney sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.85, for a total value 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. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Carla Chaney sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.85, for a total value 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. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, 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 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 62,304 shares of company stock valued at $16,889,119 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equifax

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Conning Inc. boosted its stake in Equifax by 4.7% during the second quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 848 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $206,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Equifax by 1.2% during the second quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 3,726 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $903,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Equifax by 13.5% during the third quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 371 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $109,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Thompson Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Equifax by 0.3% during the second quarter. Thompson Investment Management Inc. now owns 15,464 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,749,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust boosted its stake in Equifax by 3.0% during the third quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 1,665 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $489,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Equifax Stock Down 0.6 %

EFX stock opened at $268.47 on Wednesday. Equifax has a 1-year low of $159.95 and a 1-year high of $309.63. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $291.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $263.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.58.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The credit services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.01. Equifax had a return on equity of 18.56% and a net margin of 10.07%. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.76 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Equifax will post 7.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. 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.