Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at BMO Capital Markets

BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a market perform rating and a $280.00 price objective on the credit services provider's stock.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Equifax from $306.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $305.00 price target (up from $295.00) on shares of Equifax in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Bank of America lowered shares of Equifax from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $300.00 to $285.00 in a report on Monday, June 23rd. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Equifax from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Equifax from $277.00 to $296.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $295.50.

Equifax Stock Down 2.4%

Equifax stock traded down $6.29 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $258.71. 530,837 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 991,730. Equifax has a 1 year low of $199.98 and a 1 year high of $309.63. The firm has a market cap of $32.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.60. 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 has a 50 day moving average price of $264.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $253.03.

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

Equifax Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.77%. This is an increase from Equifax's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 23rd. Equifax's payout ratio is 40.90%.

Insider Transactions at Equifax

In other Equifax news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 22,160 shares of the business's 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 142,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,539,980.95. The trade was a 13.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the business's 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 65,176 shares in the company, valued at $16,887,101.60. This trade represents a 2.98% 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 insiders.

Institutional Trading of Equifax

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EFX. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Equifax in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equifax in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Colonial Trust Co SC raised its holdings 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 worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new stake in shares of Equifax in the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.