Brokerages Set Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Target Price at $310.47

Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and sixteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $310.47.

EFX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays lifted their target price on Equifax from $300.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 price objective on shares of Equifax in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Equifax from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Equifax from $290.00 to $333.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Equifax from $255.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th.

Equifax Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of EFX stock opened at $269.63 on Wednesday. Equifax has a 12 month low of $179.13 and a 12 month high of $309.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market cap of $33.42 billion, a PE ratio of 59.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.59. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $289.24 and a 200-day moving average of $264.82.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The credit services provider reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.44 billion. Equifax had a net margin of 10.07% and a return on equity of 18.56%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.76 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Equifax will post 7.29 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is 34.67%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.49, for a total transaction of $15,770,648.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 109,183 shares in the company, valued at $29,532,909.67. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.49, for a total value of $15,770,648.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 109,183 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,532,909.67. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $3,075,535.48. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.66% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equifax

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EFX. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Equifax during the third quarter worth about $29,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equifax in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Equifax by 76.1% during the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Equifax during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Equifax by 138.2% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 131 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.