Citigroup Boosts Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Price Target to $304.00

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) had its price target raised by Citigroup from $263.00 to $304.00 in a research report released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Equifax from $255.00 to $286.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Equifax in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. They set an outperform rating and a $275.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Equifax from $273.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Equifax from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Equifax from $246.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $287.00.

Equifax Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:EFX opened at $271.74 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market cap of $33.63 billion, a PE ratio of 60.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.56. The business has a 50 day moving average of $244.47 and a 200-day moving average of $247.84. Equifax has a 12-month low of $159.95 and a 12-month high of $276.69.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The credit services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.42 billion. Equifax had a return on equity of 18.88% and a net margin of 10.67%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.71 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Equifax will post 7.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 24th were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.74%.

Insider Transactions at Equifax

In other news, SVP James M. Griggs sold 2,410 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.60, for a total transaction of $575,026.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 5,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,193,238.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, SVP James M. Griggs sold 2,410 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.60, for a total value of $575,026.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 5,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,193,238.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Karen L. Fichuk acquired 415 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $238.77 per share, with a total value of $99,089.55. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,305 shares in the company, valued at approximately $789,134.85. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,238 shares of company stock valued at $2,647,378 in the last 90 days. 1.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equifax

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. First Community Trust NA purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Equifax by 271.4% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 156 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.