Oppenheimer Lowers Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Price Target to $279.00

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) had its price objective decreased by Oppenheimer from $296.00 to $279.00 in a research report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Oppenheimer currently has an outperform rating on the credit services provider's stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $295.00 price objective on shares of Equifax in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Equifax from $310.00 to $289.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $305.00 price target (up from $295.00) on shares of Equifax in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Equifax from $277.00 to $272.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Bank of America cut shares of Equifax from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $300.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $285.00.

Equifax Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:EFX traded up $0.35 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $246.33. The company had a trading volume of 219,877 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,048,749. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.77. Equifax has a 1-year low of $199.98 and a 1-year high of $309.63. The firm has a market cap of $30.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $261.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $253.09.

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

Insider Transactions at Equifax

In related news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 22,160 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 142,395 shares of the company's stock, valued at $36,539,980.95. This trade represents a 13.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the firm'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 sale, the executive vice president 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equifax

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EFX. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc increased its position in Equifax by 3.7% in the first quarter. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc now owns 1,134 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. CX Institutional increased its position in Equifax by 0.9% in the second quarter. CX Institutional now owns 5,005 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,298,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Integrated Advisors Network LLC grew its position in shares of Equifax by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 1,595 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $406,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Equifax by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,395 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $340,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. Finally, LRI Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Equifax by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 1,046 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $266,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.