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

Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and fifteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $306.74.

A number of research firms have recently commented on EFX. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Equifax from $305.00 to $284.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Equifax in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $360.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Equifax from $277.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of Equifax from $315.00 to $286.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Equifax from $290.00 to $333.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th.

Insider Activity at Equifax

In other Equifax news, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.92, for a total value of $272,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,269 shares in the company, valued at $3,075,535.48. This represents a 8.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.49, for a total value of $15,770,648.96. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 109,183 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,532,909.67. This trade represents a 34.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in Equifax during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Equifax by 72.0% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,514,093 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $405,051,000 after buying an additional 633,887 shares in the last quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Equifax during the first quarter valued at $1,065,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Equifax in the 1st quarter worth about $764,000. Finally, Dynasty Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Equifax in the 1st quarter worth about $1,543,000. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equifax Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of EFX stock opened at $253.58 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $277.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $267.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. Equifax has a 1-year low of $208.67 and a 1-year high of $309.63. The firm has a market cap of $31.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.35, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.59.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The credit services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.44 billion. Equifax had a net margin of 10.07% and a return on equity of 18.56%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.76 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Equifax will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.67%.

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.