Equifax (NYSE:EFX) PT Raised to $290.00

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) had its price objective boosted by Robert W. Baird from $260.00 to $290.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. Robert W. Baird currently has an outperform rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

EFX has been the subject of several other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Equifax from $290.00 to $273.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Equifax from $255.00 to $286.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Needham & Company LLC restated a buy rating and set a $305.00 price objective on shares of Equifax in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Equifax in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. They set an outperform rating and a $275.00 price objective for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Equifax from $246.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Friday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $283.19.

Equifax Trading Up 3.6 %

NYSE EFX opened at $269.62 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.79. The company has a market capitalization of $33.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.56. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $243.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $247.23. Equifax has a one year low of $159.95 and a one year high of $276.69.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The credit services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.09. Equifax had a net margin of 10.67% and a return on equity of 18.88%. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.71 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Equifax will post 7.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 24th were given a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. Equifax’s payout ratio is currently 34.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equifax

In related news, Director Karen L. Fichuk bought 415 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were bought at an average price of $238.77 per share, with a total value of $99,089.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,305 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $789,134.85. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Equifax news, Director Karen L. Fichuk purchased 415 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $238.77 per share, with a total value of $99,089.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,305 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $789,134.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Carla Chaney sold 5,178 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total transaction of $1,235,626.14. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,029,028.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 83,635 shares of company stock valued at $18,969,282 over the last 90 days. 1.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Equifax

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in EFX. Parnassus Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Equifax by 1,740.8% during the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 2,085,879 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $515,817,000 after buying an additional 1,972,564 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax during the fourth quarter worth approximately $204,218,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Equifax by 72.0% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,514,093 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $405,051,000 after buying an additional 633,887 shares during the period. Boston Partners purchased a new position in Equifax in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $154,667,000. Finally, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership purchased a new position in Equifax in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $126,794,000. 96.20% of the stock is currently 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.