Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Given New $310.00 Price Target at UBS Group

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) had its price target cut by UBS Group from $335.00 to $310.00 in a research note released on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the credit services provider's stock.

EFX has been the topic of several other reports. BNP Paribas upgraded Equifax from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $305.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on shares of Equifax from $325.00 to $300.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Wolfe Research cut shares of Equifax from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Equifax in a research report on Friday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Equifax from $305.00 to $284.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $301.69.

Equifax Stock Performance

Equifax stock traded down $1.20 during trading on Friday, hitting $251.70. The stock had a trading volume of 426,391 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,020,938. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The stock's 50 day moving average is $261.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $274.82. Equifax has a 1 year low of $213.02 and a 1 year high of $309.63. The stock has a market cap of $31.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.58.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.12. Equifax had a net margin of 10.63% and a return on equity of 19.13%. As a group, analysts predict that Equifax will post 7.45 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. Equifax's dividend payout ratio is 32.30%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Lisa M. Nelson sold 551 shares of the 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 owns 11,697 shares in the company, valued at $3,045,781.83. This represents a 4.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.57% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Equifax

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of EFX. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Equifax by 76,913.8% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 960,362 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $282,212,000 after buying an additional 959,115 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in Equifax by 37.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,233,744 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $950,268,000 after purchasing an additional 880,162 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Equifax by 95.9% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,617,574 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $412,239,000 after acquiring an additional 791,730 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Equifax during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $113,896,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Equifax by 34.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 863,718 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $251,480,000 after acquiring an additional 220,109 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.