Equifax (NYSE:EFX) PT Raised to $304.00

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) had its target price increased by Citigroup from $263.00 to $304.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

EFX has been the subject of a number of other reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Equifax from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Equifax in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. They set an outperform rating and a $275.00 target price for the company. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on shares of Equifax from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Equifax from $272.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Equifax from $246.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $287.00.

Equifax Stock Up 1.6 %

EFX opened at $271.74 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $244.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $247.84. Equifax has a twelve month low of $159.95 and a twelve month high of $276.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.52, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.56.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The credit services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.09. Equifax had a net margin of 10.67% and a return on equity of 18.88%. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.71 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Equifax will post 7.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 19th. Investors of record on Friday, May 24th were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is 34.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Equifax news, CFO John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 3,650 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.24, for a total transaction of $836,726.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 62,219 shares in the company, valued at $14,263,083.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CFO John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 3,650 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.24, for a total value of $836,726.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 62,219 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,263,083.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Carla Chaney sold 5,178 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The shares were 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 directly owns 16,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,029,028.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 11,238 shares of company stock worth $2,647,378. 1.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in Equifax by 71.5% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 341,942 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $84,559,000 after purchasing an additional 142,571 shares during the period. CVA Family Office LLC purchased a new position in Equifax during the 4th quarter valued at about $85,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in Equifax by 552.1% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 11,627 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,875,000 after purchasing an additional 9,844 shares during the period. Trust Co of the South purchased a new position in Equifax during the 4th quarter valued at about $238,000. Finally, MJP Associates Inc. ADV purchased a new position in Equifax during the 4th quarter valued at about $281,000. Hedge funds and other 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.