Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Stock Rating Reaffirmed by Needham & Company LLC

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating restated by equities research analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a research note issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $350.00 target price on the credit services provider's stock. Needham & Company LLC's target price suggests a potential upside of 29.62% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Equifax from $277.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Barclays lifted their target price on Equifax from $300.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Equifax from $250.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Equifax from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $310.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Equifax from $300.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Equifax presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $310.47.

Equifax Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE EFX traded up $0.13 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $270.02. 760,683 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 851,885. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $293.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $263.63. Equifax has a twelve month low of $159.95 and a twelve month high of $309.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.56, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.58.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The credit services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $1.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.76 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Equifax will post 7.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Carla Chaney sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.85, for a total transaction of $845,550.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,875 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,065,118.75. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in Equifax by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,045,398 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $3,757,425,000 after buying an additional 342,170 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Equifax by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,033,448 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $3,754,228,000 after buying an additional 137,961 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Equifax by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,276,798 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,036,952,000 after buying an additional 200,665 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Equifax by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 3,044,561 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $738,184,000 after buying an additional 70,091 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Equifax by 72.0% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,514,093 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $405,051,000 after buying an additional 633,887 shares in the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.