Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and fourteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $270.19.

A number of analysts have weighed in on EFX shares. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Equifax from $275.00 to $260.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Equifax from $208.00 to $289.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Equifax from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $210.00 to $310.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Equifax from $300.00 to $255.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of Equifax from $291.00 to $272.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 19th.

Insider Activity at Equifax

In other Equifax news, EVP Rodolfo O. Ploder sold 14,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.45, for a total value of $3,178,168.65. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 75,964 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,126,083.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.45, for a total value of $13,143,735.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 109,220 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,623,649. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Rodolfo O. Ploder sold 14,097 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.45, for a total value of $3,178,168.65. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 75,964 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,126,083.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.66% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EFX. KB Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in Equifax during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Equifax during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Equifax in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Smithfield Trust Co grew its holdings in Equifax by 55.5% during the 3rd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 199 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Equifax during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Stock Performance

Shares of EFX opened at $236.74 on Wednesday. Equifax has a 1 year low of $159.95 and a 1 year high of $275.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.26 billion, a PE ratio of 52.73, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.73. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $249.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $235.69.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The credit services provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.06. Equifax had a net margin of 10.42% and a return on equity of 19.08%. The company had revenue of $1.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.43 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Equifax will post 7.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 24th will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 23rd. Equifax’s payout ratio is 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.