Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $301.59.

EFX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Equifax from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Equifax from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Equifax to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Equifax from $263.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Equifax from $277.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th.

Equifax Stock Down 0.9 %

NYSE EFX opened at $304.11 on Tuesday. Equifax has a twelve month low of $159.95 and a twelve month high of $309.63. The stock has a market cap of $37.59 billion, a PE ratio of 67.73, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.58. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $283.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $258.34. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The credit services provider reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. Equifax had a return on equity of 18.88% and a net margin of 10.67%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.71 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Equifax will post 7.33 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.74%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Carla Chaney sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.85, for a total transaction of $845,550.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equifax

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in Equifax during the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Equifax by 76.1% during the second quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Equifax in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Equifax in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Equifax by 138.2% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 131 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.