Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Given New $284.00 Price Target at Stifel Nicolaus

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) had its price target lowered by stock analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $305.00 to $284.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the credit services provider’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price objective would indicate a potential upside of 16.43% from the company’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Equifax from $304.00 to $283.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Equifax from $290.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Equifax from $263.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Equifax from $250.00 to $271.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Equifax in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $306.74.

Equifax Stock Performance

Shares of Equifax stock traded down $1.11 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $243.92. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 285,889 shares, compared to its average volume of 869,098. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $280.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $267.82. Equifax has a 52 week low of $208.25 and a 52 week high of $309.63. The firm has a market cap of $30.23 billion, a PE ratio of 54.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The credit services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.01. Equifax had a return on equity of 18.56% and a net margin of 10.07%. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.76 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Equifax will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Equifax

In related news, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.92, for a total transaction of $272,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,269 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,075,535.48. This trade represents a 8.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.49, for a total value of $15,770,648.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 109,183 shares in the company, valued at $29,532,909.67. This trade represents a 34.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.66% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equifax

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of EFX. Conning Inc. increased its stake in Equifax by 4.7% during the second quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 848 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $206,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 3,726 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $903,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Cromwell Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Equifax by 13.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 371 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $109,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Thompson Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Equifax by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Thompson Investment Management Inc. now owns 15,464 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,749,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, Greenleaf Trust increased its position in Equifax by 3.0% during the third quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 1,665 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $489,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. 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.