Barclays Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Stock Price

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) had its price target decreased by stock analysts at Barclays from $260.00 to $240.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "equal weight" rating on the credit services provider's stock. Barclays's target price would indicate a potential upside of 0.37% from the company's current price.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Equifax in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $280.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Equifax from $306.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $295.00 target price on shares of Equifax in a report on Friday, June 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Equifax in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Equifax from $277.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Equifax presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $294.25.

Equifax Price Performance

EFX opened at $239.12 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $263.03 and a 200-day moving average of $253.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.90, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.60. Equifax has a 12-month low of $199.98 and a 12-month high of $309.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The credit services provider reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.92 by $0.08. Equifax had a return on equity of 18.81% and a net margin of 10.68%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.82 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Equifax will post 7.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 22,160 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.61, for a total transaction of $5,686,477.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $259.10, for a total value of $518,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 65,176 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,887,101.60. The trade was a 2.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equifax

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. SteelPeak Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equifax in the 2nd quarter worth about $787,000. OLD National Bancorp IN grew its holdings in Equifax by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 64,789 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $16,804,000 after acquiring an additional 773 shares during the last quarter. Yoder Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Equifax during the 2nd quarter worth about $205,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Equifax by 231.9% during the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,347 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,387,000 after purchasing an additional 3,736 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Equifax by 18.5% during the second quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 10,270 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $2,664,000 after purchasing an additional 1,605 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.

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