Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eighteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and fifteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $301.69.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on EFX. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on Equifax from $286.00 to $279.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Equifax from $320.00 to $316.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Equifax from $340.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Equifax from $335.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Equifax from $321.00 to $313.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Lisa M. Nelson sold 551 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.39, for a total transaction of $143,474.89. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,697 shares in the company, valued at $3,045,781.83. This trade represents a 4.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equifax

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Czech National Bank raised its holdings in Equifax by 7.0% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 25,206 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $7,407,000 after acquiring an additional 1,651 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax in the 3rd quarter valued at about $231,000. Atomi Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Equifax by 5.4% during the third quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,422 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $712,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management grew its stake in Equifax by 3.2% in the third quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 27,537 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $8,092,000 after purchasing an additional 862 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC increased its holdings in Equifax by 6.5% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,520 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $447,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equifax Stock Performance

EFX opened at $253.16 on Friday. Equifax has a 1-year low of $213.02 and a 1-year high of $309.63. The stock has a market cap of $31.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.58. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $260.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $274.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.12. Equifax had a net margin of 10.63% and a return on equity of 19.13%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Equifax will post 7.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.62%. Equifax’s payout ratio is currently 32.30%.

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.