Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Stock Rating Upgraded by Royal Bank of Canada

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) was upgraded by Royal Bank of Canada from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note issued on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a $300.00 target price on the credit services provider’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 23.92% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on EFX. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Equifax from $340.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Argus cut Equifax from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Gordon Haskett upgraded Equifax to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Equifax from $320.00 to $316.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on Equifax from $325.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $298.56.

Equifax Stock Up 2.7 %

Shares of EFX stock opened at $242.10 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $253.04 and a 200 day moving average of $266.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market cap of $30.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.65. Equifax has a twelve month low of $213.02 and a twelve month 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, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12. Equifax had a return on equity of 19.13% and a net margin of 10.63%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Equifax will post 7.58 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equifax

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in shares of Equifax by 1,920.0% in the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 101 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Colonial Trust Co SC lifted its stake in shares of Equifax by 505.0% in the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 121 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new position in shares of Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. 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.