Analysts Set Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Target Price at $311.81

Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the sixteen brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $311.81.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on EFX. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Equifax from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. BNP Paribas raised Equifax from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $305.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on Equifax from $315.00 to $286.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Equifax from $304.00 to $283.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $350.00 price objective on shares of Equifax in a report on Monday, October 28th.

Insider Transactions at Equifax

In related news, EVP Lisa M. Nelson sold 551 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.39, for a total value of $143,474.89. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,697 shares of the company's stock, 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 SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.92, for a total value of $272,920.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,269 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,075,535.48. The trade was a 8.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 59,855 shares of company stock valued at $16,187,044. 1.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $618,000. Choreo LLC acquired a new stake in Equifax in the second quarter valued at approximately $609,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its stake in shares of Equifax by 30.0% during the second quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 49,263 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $11,827,000 after buying an additional 11,361 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Equifax by 63.7% during the second quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,883 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $699,000 after buying an additional 1,122 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Equifax by 7.4% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 281,930 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $68,357,000 after buying an additional 19,438 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Equifax Stock Up 1.2 %

NYSE EFX traded up $3.01 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $247.36. 1,028,256 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 887,656. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.97, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.57. Equifax has a twelve month low of $213.02 and a twelve month high of $309.63. The business's 50-day moving average is $259.05 and its 200-day moving average is $272.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The credit services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.01. Equifax had a net margin of 10.07% and a return on equity of 18.56%. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.44 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.76 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Equifax will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.63%. Equifax's dividend payout ratio is presently 34.67%.

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.