Needham & Company LLC Reiterates “Buy” Rating for Equifax (NYSE:EFX)

Equifax (NYSE:EFX)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by investment analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $295.00 price objective on the credit services provider’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 15.54% from the company’s current price.

EFX has been the topic of several other reports. Bank of America started coverage on Equifax in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $280.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $305.00 price objective (up from $295.00) on shares of Equifax in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. BNP Paribas cut Equifax from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Equifax from $288.00 to $306.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Equifax in a research report on Wednesday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $294.63.

Equifax Price Performance

Shares of EFX stock opened at $255.31 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $31.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.21, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.63. The business’s fifty day moving average is $259.09 and its 200 day moving average is $253.23. Equifax has a twelve month low of $199.98 and a twelve month high of $309.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The credit services provider reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.08. Equifax had a return on equity of 18.81% and a net margin of 10.68%. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.41 billion. Research analysts expect that Equifax will post 7.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Equifax

In related news, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $259.10, for a total transaction of $518,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 65,176 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,887,101.60. This trade represents a 2.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 22,160 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.61, for a total value of $5,686,477.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 142,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,539,980.95. The trade was a 13.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equifax

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of EFX. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc increased its stake in Equifax by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc now owns 1,134 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $276,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC increased its stake in Equifax by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 817 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $208,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Integrated Advisors Network LLC grew its stake in Equifax by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 1,595 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $406,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Equifax by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 879 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Equifax by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 799 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $204,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.