Equifax’s (EFX) Equal Weight Rating Reaffirmed at Barclays

Equifax (NYSE:EFX)‘s stock had its “equal weight” rating reiterated by Barclays in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, MarketBeat reports. They presently have a $260.00 target price on the credit services provider’s stock, down from their previous target price of $325.00. Barclays‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 23.63% from the stock’s current price.

EFX has been the topic of several other research reports. Argus downgraded Equifax from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Equifax from $321.00 to $313.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Equifax from $340.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Equifax from $320.00 to $316.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Equifax from $284.00 to $281.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Equifax currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $294.50.

Equifax Price Performance

Shares of EFX opened at $210.30 on Friday. Equifax has a 52 week low of $209.89 and a 52 week high of $309.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The firm has a market cap of $26.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.54, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.65. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $248.10 and a 200-day moving average of $261.34.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12. Equifax had a net margin of 10.63% and a return on equity of 19.13%. As a group, analysts forecast that Equifax will post 7.58 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equifax

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in Equifax by 17.3% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 5,422 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,593,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax in the 3rd quarter valued at $234,000. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Equifax by 2.8% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 57,943 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $17,030,000 after purchasing an additional 1,602 shares in the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its position in Equifax by 4.6% during the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 57,039 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $16,761,000 after buying an additional 2,530 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of Equifax by 11,585.7% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 818 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $240,000 after buying an additional 811 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

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.