Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Price Target Lowered to $300.00 at Jefferies Financial Group

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) had its target price reduced by stock analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $340.00 to $300.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the credit services provider's stock. Jefferies Financial Group's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 13.58% from the stock's current price.

EFX has been the topic of a number of other reports. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of Equifax from $315.00 to $286.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Equifax from $304.00 to $283.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Equifax from $305.00 to $284.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Wolfe Research downgraded Equifax from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Equifax from $325.00 to $321.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $311.12.

Equifax Stock Performance

Shares of EFX traded up $11.79 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $264.13. 1,233,106 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 923,856. Equifax has a twelve month low of $213.02 and a twelve month high of $309.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The company has a market capitalization of $32.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.70, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.57. The business's 50-day moving average price is $258.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $272.98.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The credit services provider reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.44 billion. Equifax had a return on equity of 18.56% and a net margin of 10.07%. The firm's revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.76 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Equifax will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.92, for a total value of $272,920.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,269 shares in the company, valued at $3,075,535.48. This represents a 8.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.49, for a total value of $15,770,648.96. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 109,183 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,532,909.67. This represents a 34.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. 1.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Equifax

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in EFX. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Equifax in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in shares of Equifax during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Equifax during the third quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Intact Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Equifax during the third quarter worth approximately $73,000. Finally, Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc purchased a new stake in Equifax in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $85,000. 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.