JPMorgan Chase & Co. Boosts Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Price Target to $300.00

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) had its price objective hoisted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $273.00 to $300.00 in a report published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Equifax from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Equifax from $272.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Friday. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on shares of Equifax from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Equifax in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. They issued an outperform rating and a $275.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Equifax from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Friday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Equifax presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $283.19.

Equifax Trading Down 1.5 %

NYSE:EFX opened at $260.30 on Friday. Equifax has a one year low of $159.95 and a one year high of $276.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market cap of $32.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.56. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $242.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $246.98.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last posted its quarterly 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. Equifax had a net margin of 10.67% and a return on equity of 18.88%. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.71 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Equifax will post 7.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 24th were issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 23rd. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.74%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The shares were 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 directly owns 109,220 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,623,649. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The shares were 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 directly owns 109,220 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,623,649. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Rodolfo O. Ploder sold 14,097 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.45, for a total transaction of $3,178,168.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 75,964 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,126,083.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 83,635 shares of company stock valued at $18,969,282 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equifax

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in EFX. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at $248,000. Apeiron RIA LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at $210,000. CX Institutional lifted its stake in shares of Equifax by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. CX Institutional now owns 4,651 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,150,000 after purchasing an additional 436 shares during the period. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at $1,240,000. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Equifax by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,956 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,193,000 after purchasing an additional 809 shares during the period. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.