Analysts Set Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Price Target at $306.74

Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and fifteen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $306.74.

Several analysts have recently issued reports on EFX shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Equifax from $250.00 to $271.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Equifax from $305.00 to $284.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on Equifax from $315.00 to $286.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Equifax from $290.00 to $333.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Equifax from $277.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th.

Equifax Price Performance

EFX opened at $258.94 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $276.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $268.36. Equifax has a 1 year low of $208.67 and a 1 year high of $309.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market cap of $32.10 billion, a PE ratio of 57.54, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.59.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The credit services provider reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.01. Equifax had a return on equity of 18.56% and a net margin of 10.07%. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.76 earnings per share. Equifax’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Equifax will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Equifax

In related news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of the business’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 transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.92, for a total value of $272,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,269 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,075,535.48. This trade represents a 8.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Equifax during the third quarter worth about $29,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Equifax during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Equifax by 76.1% in the 2nd 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 during the period. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Equifax in the second quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC grew its stake in Equifax by 138.2% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 131 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is owned by 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.