Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Rating Increased to Neutral at BNP Paribas

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) was upgraded by investment analysts at BNP Paribas from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report issued on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a $310.00 price objective on the credit services provider’s stock. BNP Paribas’ price objective would indicate a potential upside of 3.65% from the company’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on EFX. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Equifax from $263.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on shares of Equifax from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Equifax from $300.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Equifax in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $275.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Equifax from $250.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equifax currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $302.06.

Equifax Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EFX opened at $299.09 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $287.16 and a 200 day moving average of $259.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 66.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.58. Equifax has a 12-month low of $159.95 and a 12-month high of $309.63.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last announced its 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 company had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. Equifax had a net margin of 10.67% and a return on equity of 18.88%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.71 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Equifax will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Equifax

In related news, EVP Carla Chaney sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.85, for a total transaction of $845,550.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,065,118.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equifax

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital International Investors raised its stake in Equifax by 2.5% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,045,398 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,757,425,000 after purchasing an additional 342,170 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 137,961 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Equifax by 4.9% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,276,798 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,036,952,000 after acquiring an additional 200,665 shares during the period. Generation Investment Management LLP raised its stake in shares of Equifax by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP now owns 3,856,248 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $953,612,000 after acquiring an additional 298,846 shares during the period. Finally, Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Equifax by 2.4% in the second quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 3,044,561 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $738,184,000 after acquiring an additional 70,091 shares during the period. 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.