Allstate Corp Invests $937,000 in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Allstate Corp acquired a new stake in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 3,676 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $937,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of EFX. Greenleaf Trust increased its stake in shares of Equifax by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 1,702 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $434,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC increased its position in Equifax by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 1,012 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC raised its holdings in Equifax by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 817 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $208,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Equifax by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 879 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Equifax by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 799 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $204,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Equifax Price Performance

EFX stock opened at $243.72 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.75. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $251.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $263.00. The company has a market capitalization of $30.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.65. Equifax Inc. has a 52-week low of $213.02 and a 52-week high of $309.63.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.12. Equifax had a return on equity of 19.13% and a net margin of 10.63%. Research analysts expect that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on EFX shares. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Equifax from $340.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Equifax from $320.00 to $316.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Gordon Haskett raised Equifax to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Argus lowered Equifax from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Equifax from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $298.56.

About Equifax

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.