Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, thirteen have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $292.00.

A number of analysts have commented on EFX shares. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Equifax from $335.00 to $310.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $260.00 price objective (down previously from $325.00) on shares of Equifax in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Argus downgraded Equifax from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Equifax from $320.00 to $316.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Equifax in a report on Friday, February 7th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Equifax news, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $259.10, for a total value of $518,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 65,176 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,887,101.60. This trade represents a 2.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 22,160 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.61, for a total value of $5,686,477.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 142,395 shares in the company, valued at $36,539,980.95. The trade was a 13.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in Equifax by 1,920.0% in the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 101 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new position in Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Equifax in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its position in Equifax by 505.0% in the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 121 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Equifax Price Performance

NYSE EFX opened at $278.84 on Friday. Equifax has a twelve month low of $199.98 and a twelve month high of $309.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.63 billion, a PE ratio of 57.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.68. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $243.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $252.60.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The credit services provider reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.08. Equifax had a return on equity of 19.13% and a net margin of 10.63%. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.41 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Equifax will post 7.58 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This is a positive change from Equifax’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is 40.90%.

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.