Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Given New $304.00 Price Target at Citigroup

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) had its price target raised by equities researchers at Citigroup from $263.00 to $304.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the credit services provider’s stock. Citigroup’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 15.32% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on EFX. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Equifax from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Equifax from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Equifax from $246.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Equifax from $255.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Equifax from $273.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $287.00.

Equifax Stock Performance

EFX traded down $1.37 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $263.62. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 382,249 shares, compared to its average volume of 822,219. Equifax has a fifty-two week low of $159.95 and a fifty-two week high of $276.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.59 billion, a PE ratio of 58.71, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $243.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $247.43.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The credit services provider reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.42 billion. Equifax had a return on equity of 18.88% and a net margin of 10.67%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.71 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Equifax will post 7.34 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Equifax

In related news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,300 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.45, for a total transaction of $13,143,735.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 109,220 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,623,649. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Rodolfo O. Ploder sold 14,097 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.45, for a total transaction of $3,178,168.65. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 75,964 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,126,083.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,300 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.45, for a total value of $13,143,735.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 109,220 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,623,649. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 83,635 shares of company stock valued at $18,969,282 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Equifax

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Equifax by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,838 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $455,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Thompson Investment Management Inc. lifted its position 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 buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its position in shares of Equifax by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 2,022 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $500,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Equifax by 5.1% in the first quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,038 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $278,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust lifted its position in shares of Equifax by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 1,507 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $373,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Company Profile

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.