Wells Fargo & Company Has Lowered Expectations for Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Stock Price

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) had its price target trimmed by Wells Fargo & Company from $313.00 to $284.00 in a report issued on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the credit services provider's stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on EFX. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Equifax in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Equifax in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $280.00 target price on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on Equifax from $325.00 to $300.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Equifax from $340.00 to $300.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Barclays reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $260.00 price target (down from $325.00) on shares of Equifax in a report on Friday, April 4th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $292.31.

Equifax Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EFX traded up $2.15 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $221.43. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,458,636 shares, compared to its average volume of 977,516. Equifax has a one year low of $199.98 and a one year high of $309.63. The company has a market cap of $27.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $237.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $255.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.12. Equifax had a net margin of 10.63% and a return on equity of 19.13%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Equifax will post 7.58 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Equifax's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.30%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Equifax in the fourth quarter worth about $330,400,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in Equifax by 7,883,233.3% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 946,000 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $241,087,000 after acquiring an additional 945,988 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Equifax by 95.9% during 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 during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Equifax by 24,315.8% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 696,094 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $169,541,000 after purchasing an additional 693,243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,027,817 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,281,340,000 after purchasing an additional 679,688 shares during the period. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.