Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Given New $284.00 Price Target at Stifel Nicolaus

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) had its price objective reduced by Stifel Nicolaus from $305.00 to $284.00 in a report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on EFX. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Equifax from $250.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on Equifax from $315.00 to $286.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Equifax from $290.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. BNP Paribas raised Equifax from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $310.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Equifax in a report on Friday, October 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $306.74.

Equifax Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of EFX stock opened at $253.58 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market cap of $31.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.35, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a 50 day moving average of $277.59 and a 200-day moving average of $267.73. Equifax has a 12-month low of $208.67 and a 12-month high of $309.63.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The credit services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.01. Equifax had a return on equity of 18.56% and a net margin of 10.07%. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.44 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.76 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Equifax will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd will be given a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.62%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equifax

In other Equifax news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.49, for a total transaction of $15,770,648.96. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 109,183 shares in the company, valued at $29,532,909.67. This trade represents a 34.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.92, for a total transaction of $272,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,269 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,075,535.48. The trade was a 8.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of EFX. Conning Inc. boosted its holdings in Equifax by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 848 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $206,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Equifax by 1.2% during the second quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 3,726 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $903,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Cromwell Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Equifax by 13.5% in the third quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 371 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $109,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Thompson Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Equifax by 0.3% in the second quarter. Thompson Investment Management Inc. now owns 15,464 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,749,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust increased its stake in shares of Equifax by 3.0% in the third quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 1,665 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $489,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. 96.20% of the stock is 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.