Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $270.23, but opened at $254.83. Equifax shares last traded at $253.80, with a volume of 219,396 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EFX has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Equifax from $304.00 to $283.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Robert W. Baird upped 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. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Equifax from $335.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Equifax from $340.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on shares of Equifax from $325.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equifax presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $300.71.

Equifax Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $30.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.58. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $261.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $274.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12. Equifax had a net margin of 10.63% and a return on equity of 19.13%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Equifax Inc. will post 7.45 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.63%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equifax

In related news, EVP Lisa M. Nelson sold 551 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.39, for a total value 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. The trade was a 4.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Equifax in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Equifax in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new position in Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Spire Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Equifax by 98.7% during the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 151 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax during the 3rd quarter valued at about $48,000. 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.