Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Raised to "Overweight" at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a report released on Thursday morning, Marketbeat reports. Morgan Stanley currently has $320.00 target price on the credit services provider's stock, up from their previous target price of $275.00.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on EFX. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of Equifax from $315.00 to $286.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Equifax in a report on Friday, October 18th. UBS Group started coverage on Equifax in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $360.00 price objective for the company. BNP Paribas upgraded Equifax from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $310.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Equifax from $305.00 to $284.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $311.67.

Equifax Stock Performance

Equifax stock traded up $2.55 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $265.29. The stock had a trading volume of 691,927 shares, compared to its average volume of 873,805. Equifax has a 52-week low of $213.02 and a 52-week high of $309.63. The company has a market capitalization of $32.88 billion, a PE ratio of 58.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 1.57. The firm's fifty day moving average is $268.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $269.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The credit services provider reported $1.85 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.44 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.76 EPS. The company's revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Equifax will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. Equifax's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Equifax news, EVP Lisa M. Nelson sold 551 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.39, for a total transaction of $143,474.89. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,697 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,045,781.83. This represents a 4.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.92, for a total transaction of $272,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,269 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,075,535.48. The trade was a 8.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 59,855 shares of company stock worth $16,187,044 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.66% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Equifax

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Equifax in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equifax by 76.1% in 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 stake in shares of Equifax during the second quarter worth $30,000. Crewe Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Equifax by 138.2% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 131 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Equifax by 271.4% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 156 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company's stock.

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.