Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and fourteen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $301.13.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on EFX shares. BNP Paribas upgraded Equifax from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Equifax from $321.00 to $313.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Equifax from $284.00 to $281.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Equifax from $290.00 to $333.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Equifax from $304.00 to $283.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th.

Equifax Price Performance

NYSE EFX opened at $251.01 on Friday. Equifax has a one year low of $213.02 and a one year high of $309.63. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $260.48 and a 200 day moving average of $274.38. The company has a market capitalization of $31.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.97, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.75.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last released its quarterly 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 return on equity of 19.13% and a net margin of 10.63%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Equifax will post 7.45 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Equifax

In other news, EVP Lisa M. Nelson sold 551 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.39, for a total transaction of $143,474.89. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,045,781.83. This represents a 4.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Equifax

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of EFX. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new position in shares of Equifax during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Spire Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Equifax by 98.7% during the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 151 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new position in shares of Equifax during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 96.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.