Citigroup Boosts Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Price Target to $304.00

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) had its price target increased by Citigroup from $263.00 to $304.00 in a report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Equifax from $246.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Equifax from $273.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Equifax in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. They issued an outperform rating and a $275.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Equifax from $255.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Equifax from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Equifax has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $287.00.

Equifax Stock Performance

NYSE:EFX opened at $271.74 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. Equifax has a fifty-two week low of $159.95 and a fifty-two week high of $276.69. The stock has a market cap of $33.63 billion, a PE ratio of 60.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.56. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $244.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $247.87.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The credit services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.09. Equifax had a net margin of 10.67% and a return on equity of 18.88%. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.71 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Equifax will post 7.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 24th were issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.74%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP James M. Griggs sold 2,410 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.60, for a total transaction of $575,026.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 5,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,193,238.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, SVP James M. Griggs sold 2,410 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.60, for a total transaction of $575,026.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 5,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,193,238.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 3,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.24, for a total transaction of $836,726.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,219 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,263,083.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,238 shares of company stock valued at $2,647,378 in the last 90 days. 1.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Equifax

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of EFX. Parnassus Investments LLC increased its position in Equifax by 1,740.8% during the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 2,085,879 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $515,817,000 after purchasing an additional 1,972,564 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Equifax during the 4th quarter worth approximately $204,218,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Equifax by 72.0% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,514,093 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $405,051,000 after purchasing an additional 633,887 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners acquired a new stake in Equifax in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $154,667,000. Finally, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in Equifax in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $126,794,000. 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.