Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Research Coverage Started at UBS Group

UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Equifax (NYSE:EFX) in a research note published on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $360.00 price objective on the credit services provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on EFX. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Equifax from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Bank of America upped their target price on Equifax from $255.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Equifax from $250.00 to $271.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Equifax from $263.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Equifax from $272.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $306.95.

Equifax Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE EFX opened at $293.50 on Tuesday. Equifax has a fifty-two week low of $159.95 and a fifty-two week high of $309.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The company has a market cap of $36.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.37, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.58. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $292.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $260.99.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The credit services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.09. Equifax had a net margin of 10.67% and a return on equity of 18.88%. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.71 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Equifax will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.74%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Carla Chaney sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.85, for a total value of $845,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,065,118.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EFX. Conning Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 4.7% in the second quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 848 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $206,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Equifax by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 3,726 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $903,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Thompson Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Equifax by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Thompson Investment Management Inc. now owns 15,464 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,749,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its holdings in Equifax by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,038 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $278,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its position in Equifax by 76.1% during the second quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.