Stifel Nicolaus Raises Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Price Target to $305.00

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) had its price target upped by Stifel Nicolaus from $265.00 to $305.00 in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

EFX has been the subject of several other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Equifax from $246.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Equifax from $290.00 to $273.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on shares of Equifax from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Equifax from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Equifax from $255.00 to $286.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $283.19.

Equifax Stock Down 1.5 %

NYSE:EFX opened at $260.30 on Friday. Equifax has a 1-year low of $159.95 and a 1-year high of $276.69. The company has a 50-day moving average of $242.61 and a 200 day moving average of $246.98. The firm has a market cap of $32.18 billion, a PE ratio of 57.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The credit services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.09. Equifax had a net margin of 10.67% and a return on equity of 18.88%. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.71 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Equifax will post 7.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 19th. Investors of record on Friday, May 24th were issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 transaction of $3,178,168.65. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 75,964 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,126,083.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,300 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 transaction of $13,143,735.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 109,220 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,623,649. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Rodolfo O. Ploder sold 14,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 75,964 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,126,083.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 83,635 shares of company stock worth $18,969,282. 1.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equifax

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EFX. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its stake in Equifax by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,838 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $455,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Thompson Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Equifax by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Thompson Investment Management Inc. now owns 15,464 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,749,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC grew its stake in Equifax by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 2,022 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $500,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its stake in Equifax by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,038 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $278,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Greenleaf Trust grew its stake in Equifax by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 1,507 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $373,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.