Equifax (NYSE:EFX) PT Raised to $304.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) had its target price lifted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $300.00 to $304.00 in a research report report published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 price target on shares of Equifax in a report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Equifax from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Equifax from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Equifax from $277.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Equifax from $375.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $310.47.

Equifax Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EFX opened at $281.99 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $34.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 62.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.58. Equifax has a twelve month low of $159.95 and a twelve month high of $309.63. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $294.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $263.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last released its quarterly 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. Equifax had a net margin of 10.67% and a return on equity of 18.88%. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.76 EPS. Equifax’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Equifax will post 7.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were given a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.74%.

Insider Transactions at Equifax

In related news, EVP Carla Chaney sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.85, for a total value of $845,550.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,065,118.75. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Equifax

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of EFX. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of Equifax by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,045,398 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,757,425,000 after purchasing an additional 342,170 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Equifax by 1.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,033,448 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,754,228,000 after buying an additional 137,961 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings 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 worth $1,036,952,000 after acquiring an additional 200,665 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its position 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Equifax by 72.0% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,514,093 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $405,051,000 after acquiring an additional 633,887 shares in 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.