Needham & Company LLC Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Stock Price

Key Points

• Needham & Company cut Equifax’s price target from $245 to $190 but maintained a “buy” rating, implying roughly 29% upside from the stock’s $147.34 price.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive overall: 15 analysts rate Equifax a Buy and six rate it a Hold, resulting in a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $204.15.
• Equifax exceeded quarterly EPS expectations and reported 10.6% year-over-year revenue growth, while insiders recently sold shares and institutional investors own a substantial 96.2% of the company.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) had its target price lowered by analysts at Needham & Company LLC from $245.00 to $190.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the credit services provider's stock. Needham & Company LLC's target price indicates a potential upside of 28.95% from the company's current price.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the company. BNP Paribas Exane raised their price objective on Equifax from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised Equifax from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $214.00 to $235.00 in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Equifax from $212.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Equifax from $243.00 to $225.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on Equifax from $238.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $204.15.

Equifax Price Performance

EFX opened at $147.34 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Equifax has a 52-week low of $137.01 and a 52-week high of $238.94. The company has a 50 day moving average of $169.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $170.63. The company has a market cap of $17.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.35.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The credit services provider reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. Equifax had a net margin of 10.73% and a return on equity of 21.61%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.00 earnings per share. Equifax has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.150-2.250 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 8.390-8.690 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Equifax will post 8.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP John Gamble sold 4,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.96, for a total transaction of $845,820.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 69,055 shares in the company, valued at $12,979,577.80. This trade represents a 6.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 37,791 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $46,808,582.40. The trade was a 12.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,491,357,000. Soroban Capital Partners LP lifted its position in Equifax by 310.5% in the 1st quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 4,184,569 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $753,515,000 after purchasing an additional 3,165,120 shares during the last quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP bought a new stake in Equifax in the 2nd quarter valued at about $290,868,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Equifax during the 2nd quarter valued at about $187,215,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Equifax during the 2nd quarter valued at about $174,843,000. 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.

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