Equifax's (EFX) "Buy" Rating Reiterated at Needham & Company LLC

Key Points

• Needham & Company LLC reiterated its Buy rating on Equifax and kept a $265 price target, implying about 50% upside from the stock’s current level.
• Other analysts were mixed: Mizuho and UBS were constructive, while Goldman Sachs maintained a neutral stance; overall, Equifax has a Moderate Buy consensus with an average target of $223.39.
• Equifax shares rose 2.7% to $176.62 after the note, and the company recently beat quarterly earnings and revenue expectations while issuing full-year EPS guidance of $8.34 to $8.74.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reissued by equities research analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $265.00 target price on the credit services provider's stock. Needham & Company LLC's price target suggests a potential upside of 50.04% from the stock's current price.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on EFX. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Equifax from $222.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $173.00 target price on shares of Equifax in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Rothschild & Co Redburn dropped their target price on shares of Equifax from $226.00 to $214.00 in a research report on Friday, May 8th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Equifax from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Equifax from $230.00 to $220.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Equifax currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $223.39.

Equifax Stock Up 2.7%

EFX stock traded up $4.68 on Tuesday, hitting $176.62. 525,637 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,796,847. Equifax has a 12-month low of $150.74 and a 12-month high of $275.91. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $165.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $187.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.61. The stock has a market cap of $21.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.32.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The credit services provider reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.61 billion. Equifax had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 11.12%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.53 EPS. Equifax has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.150-2.250 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 8.340-8.740 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Equifax will post 8.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Chad M. Borton sold 2,455 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.89, for a total value of $426,899.95. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 29,518 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,132,885.02. This represents a 7.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 37,791 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.40, for a total transaction of $6,515,168.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 271,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at $46,846,252. This represents a 12.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. acquired a new stake in Equifax during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 612.5% in the 4th quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 114 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Reflection Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Lodestone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equifax Company Profile

Equifax Inc NYSE: EFX is a global data, analytics and technology company that specializes in consumer and commercial credit reporting, decisioning tools and identity solutions. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Equifax is one of the three major consumer credit reporting agencies in the United States and provides credit information and related services to lenders, employers, governments and consumers worldwide.

The company's offerings include consumer credit reports and scores, credit monitoring and identity protection services, and a range of business-oriented products for risk management, fraud detection and compliance.

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