UBS Group Has Lowered Expectations for Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Stock Price

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) had its price objective reduced by UBS Group from $335.00 to $310.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of Equifax from $315.00 to $286.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Equifax in a research note on Friday. Wolfe Research lowered Equifax from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Equifax from $321.00 to $313.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Equifax from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $300.71.

Equifax Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:EFX opened at $248.59 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $261.12 and a 200-day moving average of $274.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. Equifax has a one year low of $213.02 and a one year high of $309.63. The stock has a market cap of $30.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.58.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.12. Equifax had a net margin of 10.07% and a return on equity of 18.56%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Equifax will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.63%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is 34.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equifax

In related news, EVP Lisa M. Nelson sold 551 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.39, for a total value of $143,474.89. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,045,781.83. This represents a 4.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.66% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equifax

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Equifax by 2.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 184,890 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $54,329,000 after acquiring an additional 5,097 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Equifax by 3.7% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 6,397 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,880,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equifax by 84.1% in the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,016,000 after acquiring an additional 3,135 shares in the last quarter. NS Partners Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Equifax by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. NS Partners Ltd now owns 95,010 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $27,920,000 after acquiring an additional 2,094 shares during the period. Finally, Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Equifax in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $786,000. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.