Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Cut to “Hold” at Argus

Argus lowered shares of Equifax (NYSE:EFX) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Equifax from $284.00 to $281.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on shares of Equifax from $325.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Equifax from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Equifax from $320.00 to $316.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Equifax from $304.00 to $283.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $301.13.

Equifax Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE EFX opened at $251.01 on Tuesday. Equifax has a 12-month low of $213.02 and a 12-month high of $309.63. The company has a market capitalization of $31.11 billion, a PE ratio of 51.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $260.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $274.38.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.12. Equifax had a net margin of 10.63% and a return on equity of 19.13%. Equities analysts anticipate that Equifax will post 7.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 (DPR) is 32.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equifax

In other news, EVP Lisa M. Nelson sold 551 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.39, for a total value of $143,474.89. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,045,781.83. This trade represents a 4.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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