Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and fourteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $311.18.

EFX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research lowered Equifax from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Robert W. Baird upped 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Equifax from $304.00 to $283.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Equifax from $305.00 to $284.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their price target on Equifax from $315.00 to $286.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th.

Equifax Price Performance

Shares of EFX stock opened at $261.27 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $263.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $271.59. The company has a market capitalization of $32.38 billion, a PE ratio of 58.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 1.57. Equifax has a twelve month low of $213.02 and a twelve month high of $309.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The credit services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.44 billion. Equifax had a return on equity of 18.56% and a net margin of 10.07%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.76 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Equifax will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. Equifax’s payout ratio is 34.67%.

Insider Activity at Equifax

In related news, EVP Lisa M. Nelson sold 551 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.39, for a total transaction of $143,474.89. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,697 shares in the company, valued at $3,045,781.83. This trade represents a 4.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $29,532,909.67. This trade represents a 34.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 59,855 shares of company stock worth $16,187,044 over the last ninety days. 1.66% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Equifax during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equifax by 76.1% in 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 second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Equifax by 138.2% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 131 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Equifax by 271.4% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 156 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.