Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Given New $160.00 Price Target at BMO Capital Markets

Key Points

• BMO Capital Markets lowered Equifax’s price target from $179 to $160 while maintaining a “market perform” rating, implying roughly 16% upside from the prior close. Analysts overall give the stock a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average target of $210.30.
• Equifax shares fell 2.0% to $137.98, near their 12-month low of $137.18. The company recently beat quarterly EPS estimates, reporting $2.25 versus the $2.20 consensus, while revenue rose 10.6% year over year to $1.70 billion.
• Company insiders sold shares through pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans, including CEO Mark Begor’s $6.5 million sale and EVP John Gamble’s $845,820 sale. Institutional investors remain heavily involved, owning approximately 96.2% of Equifax’s stock.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) had its target price dropped by equities researchers at BMO Capital Markets from $179.00 to $160.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "market perform" rating on the credit services provider's stock. BMO Capital Markets' price target would suggest a potential upside of 15.96% from the company's previous close.

Several other brokerages have also commented on EFX. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $171.00 price target on shares of Equifax in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Equifax from $243.00 to $225.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Equifax in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $208.00 target price on shares of Equifax and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Equifax from $212.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Equifax presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $210.30.

Equifax Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of Equifax stock traded down $2.85 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $137.98. The stock had a trading volume of 585,633 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,713,412. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $175.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $173.08. Equifax has a 12-month low of $137.18 and a 12-month high of $258.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market cap of $16.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.31.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The credit services provider reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.05. Equifax had a net margin of 10.73% and a return on equity of 21.61%. The business had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.00 EPS. The business's revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equifax has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.150-2.250 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 8.390-8.690 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Equifax will post 8.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equifax

In other Equifax news, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 4,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.96, for a total value of $845,820.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 69,055 shares in the company, valued at $12,979,577.80. The trade was a 6.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Mark Begor sold 37,791 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.16, for a total value of $6,506,098.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 271,890 shares in the company, valued at $46,808,582.40. This represents a 12.20% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equifax

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Equifax during the second quarter worth about $1,491,357,000. Soroban Capital Partners LP increased its position in shares of Equifax by 310.5% during the first quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 4,184,569 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $753,515,000 after purchasing an additional 3,165,120 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 57.2% in the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,809,879 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $609,693,000 after purchasing an additional 1,022,819 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Equifax by 36.5% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,107,458 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $379,490,000 after purchasing an additional 563,880 shares during the period. Finally, Cantillon Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Equifax by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,723,998 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $374,073,000 after buying an additional 12,995 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company's stock.

About Equifax

Equifax Inc NYSE: EFX is a global data, analytics and technology company that helps businesses, government agencies and consumers make informed decisions about credit, identity, employment and financial risk. The company collects and analyzes information from a broad range of sources to provide insights and decisioning tools for lenders, employers, insurers, telecommunications providers and other organizations.

Its products and services include consumer and commercial credit reports, credit scores, fraud and identity-management solutions, marketing and customer-acquisition analytics, and income and employment verification through The Work Number.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.