Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Price Target Raised to $296.00

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) had its target price upped by analysts at Oppenheimer from $277.00 to $296.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "outperform" rating on the credit services provider's stock. Oppenheimer's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 13.46% from the company's previous close.

EFX has been the topic of several other research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Equifax in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Bank of America began coverage on Equifax in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $280.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Equifax from $288.00 to $306.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Equifax from $284.00 to $281.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Equifax in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $294.44.

Equifax Stock Down 0.5%

NYSE EFX traded down $1.30 on Thursday, reaching $260.89. The company had a trading volume of 455,674 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,081,632. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.88. Equifax has a 1 year low of $199.98 and a 1 year high of $309.63. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $246.74 and a 200-day moving average of $252.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.40 billion, a PE ratio of 54.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.68.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The credit services provider reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.08. Equifax had a net margin of 10.63% and a return on equity of 19.13%. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.41 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Equifax will post 7.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 22,160 shares of the company'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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 142,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,539,980.95. This represents a 13.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the company'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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 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. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equifax

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Barclays PLC boosted its position in Equifax by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 184,890 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $54,329,000 after acquiring an additional 5,097 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Equifax by 8.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 658,438 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $193,489,000 after purchasing an additional 50,680 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Equifax by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,392 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $355,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. Atomi Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Equifax by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,537 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $646,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in Equifax by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 39,048 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $9,952,000 after buying an additional 2,069 shares in the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.