Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, fourteen have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $301.59.

EFX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective 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 lifted their price objective on Equifax from $277.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Bank of America increased their target price on Equifax from $255.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Equifax from $300.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Equifax to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Carla Chaney sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.85, for a total value of $845,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,065,118.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equifax

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of EFX. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in Equifax during the first quarter worth approximately $30,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Equifax by 76.1% during the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equifax during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Equifax in the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Equifax by 138.2% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 131 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Equifax Stock Performance

Shares of EFX stock opened at $304.11 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $37.59 billion, a PE ratio of 67.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.58. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $283.87 and a 200-day moving average of $258.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Equifax has a one year low of $159.95 and a one year high of $309.63.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The credit services provider reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. Equifax had a net margin of 10.67% and a return on equity of 18.88%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.71 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Equifax will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.74%.

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.