Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Price Target Lowered to $286.00 at Oppenheimer

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) had its target price cut by Oppenheimer from $315.00 to $286.00 in a research note published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on EFX. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Equifax from $277.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Equifax from $300.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Equifax in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 price objective on shares of Equifax in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $306.74.

Equifax Stock Performance

NYSE EFX opened at $253.58 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $31.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.59. Equifax has a 12-month low of $208.67 and a 12-month high of $309.63. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $277.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $267.73.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last issued 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 company 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 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 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Equifax will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. Equifax’s payout ratio is 34.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Equifax news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of Equifax 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 directly owns 109,183 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,532,909.67. The trade was a 34.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $3,075,535.48. The trade was a 8.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Equifax

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brookstone Capital Management raised its stake in Equifax by 8.5% during the 2nd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 26,675 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $6,916,000 after buying an additional 2,085 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 14.2% in the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 126,856 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $33,970,000 after purchasing an additional 15,744 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its position in Equifax by 85.8% in the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 37,902 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $9,904,000 after purchasing an additional 17,501 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in Equifax by 183.0% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 17,015 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,552,000 after purchasing an additional 11,002 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Equifax by 23.0% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,365 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,241,000 after buying an additional 2,499 shares during the last quarter. 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.