Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and fourteen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $311.18.

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of Equifax from $315.00 to $286.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Wolfe Research lowered Equifax from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Equifax in a research note on Friday, October 18th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Equifax from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Equifax from $290.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equifax

In related news, EVP Lisa M. Nelson sold 551 shares of Equifax 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,697 shares in the company, valued at $3,045,781.83. The trade was a 4.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,269 shares in the company, valued at $3,075,535.48. This represents a 8.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 59,855 shares of company stock valued at $16,187,044. 1.66% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Equifax by 6.1% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 147,448 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $43,329,000 after purchasing an additional 8,500 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Equifax by 34.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 863,718 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $251,480,000 after buying an additional 220,109 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Equifax by 23.0% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 6,184 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,817,000 after acquiring an additional 1,155 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Equifax by 17.0% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 5,872 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,726,000 after acquiring an additional 855 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Equifax by 27.3% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 16,909 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,969,000 after acquiring an additional 3,629 shares during the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equifax Stock Performance

EFX opened at $258.49 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $265.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $271.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market cap of $32.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.44, a PEG ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 1.57. Equifax has a 1-year low of $213.02 and a 1-year high of $309.63.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The credit services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.76 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Equifax will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

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

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.