Wells Fargo & Company Begins Coverage on Equifax (NYSE:EFX)

Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Equifax (NYSE:EFX) in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning, MarketBeat reports. The firm issued an overweight rating and a $340.00 price target on the credit services provider’s stock.

EFX has been the subject of a number of other reports. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Equifax from $272.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Equifax from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on Equifax from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Equifax from $246.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Equifax from $263.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $290.13.

Equifax Stock Down 1.0 %

EFX stock opened at $293.54 on Monday. Equifax has a twelve month low of $159.95 and a twelve month high of $298.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $257.15 and its 200-day moving average is $251.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.28 billion, a PE ratio of 65.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.56.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last posted 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 return on equity of 18.88% and a net margin of 10.67%. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.71 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Equifax will post 7.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Equifax

In related news, EVP Carla Chaney sold 5,178 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total transaction of $1,235,626.14. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,029,028.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Equifax news, SVP James M. Griggs sold 2,410 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.60, for a total transaction of $575,026.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 5,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,193,238.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Carla Chaney sold 5,178 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total value of $1,235,626.14. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,029,028.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 14,238 shares of company stock valued at $3,492,928. Company insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equifax

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new stake in Equifax during the second quarter worth about $15,646,000. Scientech Research LLC purchased a new position in shares of Equifax in the second quarter worth about $201,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in shares of Equifax by 0.3% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 74,225 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $17,997,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the period. MBB Public Markets I LLC increased its holdings in shares of Equifax by 656.1% in the second quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC now owns 8,620 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,090,000 after buying an additional 7,480 shares during the period. Finally, Dundas Partners LLP increased its holdings in shares of Equifax by 0.9% in the second quarter. Dundas Partners LLP now owns 132,615 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,154,000 after buying an additional 1,190 shares during the period. 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.