Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Given Buy Rating at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reissued their buy rating on shares of Equifax (NYSE:EFX) in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $350.00 price target on the credit services provider’s stock. Needham & Company LLC also issued estimates for Equifax’s FY2024 earnings at $7.30 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $1.82 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $2.27 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $2.36 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $2.44 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $10.05 EPS.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Equifax from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Equifax from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Equifax from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Equifax from $255.00 to $286.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised Equifax from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $310.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $310.47.

Equifax Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:EFX opened at $282.05 on Friday. Equifax has a fifty-two week low of $159.95 and a fifty-two week high of $309.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $294.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $262.95. The company has a market cap of $34.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.82, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.58.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The credit services provider reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.01. Equifax had a net margin of 10.67% and a return on equity of 18.88%. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.76 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Equifax will post 7.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.74%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Carla Chaney sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.85, for a total transaction of $845,550.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,065,118.75. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equifax

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. 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 during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Equifax by 1.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,033,448 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,754,228,000 after purchasing an additional 137,961 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Equifax by 4.9% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,276,798 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,036,952,000 after purchasing an additional 200,665 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Equifax by 2.4% during the second quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 3,044,561 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $738,184,000 after purchasing an additional 70,091 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 633,887 shares during the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.