Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Given New $279.00 Price Target at Oppenheimer

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) had its price objective cut by Oppenheimer from $286.00 to $279.00 in a report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on EFX. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Equifax from $284.00 to $281.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Wolfe Research cut Equifax from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Equifax in a research note on Friday. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Equifax from $290.00 to $333.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on shares of Equifax from $325.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $300.71.

Equifax Trading Up 0.4 %

Equifax stock opened at $248.59 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $261.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $274.75. The company has a market capitalization of $30.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.58. Equifax has a 52 week low of $213.02 and a 52 week high of $309.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.12. Equifax had a net margin of 10.07% and a return on equity of 18.56%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Equifax will post 7.27 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.63%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Equifax news, EVP Lisa M. Nelson sold 551 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.39, for a total transaction of $143,474.89. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,045,781.83. This represents a 4.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.66% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EFX. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Equifax by 76,913.8% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 960,362 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $282,212,000 after purchasing an additional 959,115 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in 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 period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of Equifax by 95.9% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,617,574 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $412,239,000 after acquiring an additional 791,730 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax during the 4th quarter worth $113,896,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Equifax by 34.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 863,718 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $251,480,000 after acquiring an additional 220,109 shares in the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.