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

Shares of Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the nineteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twelve have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $295.19.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on EFX shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Equifax from $306.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday. BNP Paribas cut shares of Equifax from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Equifax from $277.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Barclays reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $260.00 target price (down previously from $325.00) on shares of Equifax in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $305.00 target price (up previously from $295.00) on shares of Equifax in a report on Tuesday, June 10th.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in shares of Equifax by 1,920.0% in the fourth 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 period. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Equifax in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Equifax in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its stake in shares of Equifax by 505.0% in the fourth 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 period. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new position in shares of Equifax in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Equifax Stock Performance

NYSE:EFX traded up $0.12 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $264.20. 2,346,121 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 989,379. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.03, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.60. Equifax has a 52-week low of $199.98 and a 52-week high of $309.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company's 50 day moving average price is $264.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $252.90.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The credit services provider reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.41 billion. Equifax had a net margin of 10.68% and a return on equity of 18.81%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Equifax will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 23rd. This is a positive change from Equifax's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Equifax's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.90%.

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.