Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the seventeen analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $311.18.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on EFX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Equifax from $304.00 to $283.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Morgan Stanley raised Equifax from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $275.00 to $320.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays increased their price objective on Equifax from $300.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Equifax from $305.00 to $284.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Equifax in a research note on Friday, October 18th.

Equifax Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:EFX opened at $258.49 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $265.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $271.46. The company has a market cap of $32.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 1.57. Equifax has a 12 month low of $213.02 and a 12 month high of $309.63.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last posted its earnings results 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. Equifax had a return on equity of 18.56% and a net margin of 10.07%. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.76 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Equifax will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. Equifax’s payout ratio is 34.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Equifax news, EVP Lisa M. Nelson sold 551 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,045,781.83. The trade was a 4.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,269 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,075,535.48. This trade represents a 8.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 59,855 shares of company stock valued at $16,187,044. 1.66% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equifax

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EFX. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Equifax during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Equifax by 76.1% in the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Crewe Advisors LLC lifted its position in Equifax by 138.2% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 131 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Equifax by 271.4% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 156 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

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.