Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Lifted to Neutral at BNP Paribas

BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Equifax (NYSE:EFX) from an underperform rating to a neutral rating in a research note released on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage currently has $310.00 price objective on the credit services provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Wolfe Research started coverage on Equifax in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. They issued an outperform rating and a $275.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup raised their target price on Equifax from $263.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Equifax from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Equifax from $277.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on shares of Equifax from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $302.06.

Equifax Stock Down 1.0 %

NYSE:EFX opened at $299.09 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $287.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $259.26. The company has a market cap of $36.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 66.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.58. Equifax has a 52-week low of $159.95 and a 52-week high of $309.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The credit services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.42 billion. Equifax had a return on equity of 18.88% and a net margin of 10.67%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.71 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Equifax will post 7.33 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. Equifax’s payout ratio is 34.74%.

Insider Transactions at Equifax

In related news, EVP Carla Chaney sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.85, for a total value of $845,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,065,118.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,045,398 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,757,425,000 after buying an additional 342,170 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Equifax by 1.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,033,448 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,754,228,000 after acquiring an additional 137,961 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Equifax by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,276,798 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,036,952,000 after acquiring an additional 200,665 shares during the period. Generation Investment Management LLP increased its stake in shares of Equifax by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP now owns 3,856,248 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $953,612,000 after purchasing an additional 298,846 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Equifax by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 3,044,561 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $738,184,000 after purchasing an additional 70,091 shares during the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.