Brokerages Set Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) PT at $270.19

Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and fourteen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $270.19.

Several brokerages have issued reports on EFX. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $305.00 price target on shares of Equifax in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Equifax from $300.00 to $255.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of Equifax from $291.00 to $272.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Equifax from $275.00 to $260.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Equifax from $276.00 to $241.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 19th.

Equifax Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of EFX opened at $236.44 on Thursday. Equifax has a 52 week low of $159.95 and a 52 week high of $275.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $236.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $246.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.73.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The credit services provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.40 billion. Equifax had a return on equity of 19.08% and a net margin of 10.42%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.43 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Equifax will post 7.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 24th were given a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 23rd. Equifax’s payout ratio is presently 34.74%.

Insider Transactions at Equifax

In related news, EVP Rodolfo O. Ploder sold 14,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.45, for a total value of $3,178,168.65. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 75,964 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,126,083.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Equifax news, EVP Rodolfo O. Ploder sold 14,097 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.45, for a total transaction of $3,178,168.65. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 75,964 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,126,083.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.45, for a total transaction of $13,143,735.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 109,220 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,623,649. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 83,635 shares of company stock worth $18,969,282. Corporate insiders own 1.66% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Equifax

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of Equifax by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,045,398 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,757,425,000 after purchasing an additional 342,170 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Equifax by 1.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,033,448 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,754,228,000 after buying an additional 137,961 shares during the period. Generation Investment Management LLP boosted its holdings in Equifax by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP now owns 3,856,248 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $953,612,000 after buying an additional 298,846 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Equifax by 1,740.8% during the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 2,085,879 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $515,817,000 after buying an additional 1,972,564 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of Equifax by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,572,846 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $388,949,000 after acquiring an additional 206,037 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.