Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Receives $283.19 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $287.00.

EFX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Equifax in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $275.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Equifax from $246.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Equifax from $272.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on shares of Equifax from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Equifax from $273.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th.

Equifax Price Performance

EFX stock opened at $271.74 on Monday. Equifax has a 1 year low of $159.95 and a 1 year high of $276.69. The company has a market cap of $33.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.52, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.56. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $244.47 and a 200 day moving average of $247.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The credit services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.71 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Equifax will post 7.34 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 24th were paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 23rd. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.74%.

Insider Transactions at Equifax

In other news, Director Karen L. Fichuk bought 415 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were bought at an average price of $238.77 per share, for a total transaction of $99,089.55. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,305 shares in the company, valued at $789,134.85. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Equifax news, SVP James M. Griggs sold 2,410 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.60, for a total value of $575,026.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 5,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,193,238.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Karen L. Fichuk purchased 415 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was bought at an average price of $238.77 per share, for a total transaction of $99,089.55. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,305 shares in the company, valued at $789,134.85. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,238 shares of company stock worth $2,647,378 in the last 90 days. 1.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Equifax

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Equifax in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Equifax in the 1st quarter worth $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. First Community Trust NA purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax during the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

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.