Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Equifax, Inc. has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with twelve firms recommending a buy and one issuing a strong buy.
• The company's average one-year target price among analysts is $285.00, reflecting mixed views as several firms have recently adjusted their price targets downward.
• Equifax reported an EPS of $2.00 for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, with a revenue increase of 7.4% year-over-year.

Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twelve have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $285.00.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on EFX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Equifax from $277.00 to $272.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $295.00 target price on shares of Equifax in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Equifax in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Equifax from $310.00 to $289.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on Equifax from $294.00 to $290.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd.

Insider Transactions at Equifax

In related news, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $259.10, for a total transaction of $518,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 65,176 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,887,101.60. This represents a 2.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 48,264 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.71, for a total value of $11,665,891.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 142,872 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $34,533,591.12. The trade was a 25.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equifax

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EFX. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Equifax in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Equifax in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Equifax Stock Performance

Shares of EFX stock traded down $0.62 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $239.61. The stock had a trading volume of 1,606,221 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,093,116. Equifax has a fifty-two week low of $199.98 and a fifty-two week high of $309.63. The firm has a market cap of $29.66 billion, a PE ratio of 46.89, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $258.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $252.88.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The credit services provider reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.92 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. Equifax had a net margin of 10.95% and a return on equity of 18.89%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.82 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Equifax will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current year.

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.