Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Rating Reiterated by Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reissued their buy rating on shares of Equifax (NYSE:EFX) in a research report released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. Needham & Company LLC currently has a $350.00 target price on the credit services provider’s stock. Needham & Company LLC also issued estimates for Equifax’s FY2024 earnings at $7.30 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $1.82 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $2.27 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $2.36 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $2.44 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $10.05 EPS.

EFX has been the subject of several other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Equifax from $277.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Equifax from $250.00 to $271.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Equifax from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Citigroup boosted their price objective 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. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Equifax in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $360.00 target price on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equifax presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $310.47.

Equifax Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EFX opened at $275.76 on Friday. Equifax has a 52-week low of $159.95 and a 52-week high of $309.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $294.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $263.04. The company has a market cap of $34.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.58.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The credit services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.76 earnings per share. Equifax’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Equifax will post 7.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.74%.

Insider Transactions at Equifax

In related news, EVP Carla Chaney sold 3,000 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,065,118.75. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equifax

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Conning Inc. raised its holdings in Equifax by 4.7% in the second quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 848 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $206,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Equifax by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 3,726 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $903,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Thompson Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Equifax by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Thompson Investment Management Inc. now owns 15,464 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,749,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its position in Equifax by 5.1% during the first quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,038 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $278,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Equifax by 76.1% in the second quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Equifax

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.