Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Earns "Outperform" Rating from Royal Bank Of Canada

Royal Bank Of Canada restated their outperform rating on shares of Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) in a research note published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $300.00 target price on the credit services provider's stock.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on EFX. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Equifax in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $280.00 price objective for the company. Barclays restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $260.00 price target (down previously from $325.00) on shares of Equifax in a report on Friday, April 4th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Equifax from $277.00 to $296.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Equifax from $288.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $295.00 price objective on shares of Equifax in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $294.63.

Equifax Price Performance

Shares of EFX traded up $1.92 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $255.31. The company had a trading volume of 1,992,158 shares, compared to its average volume of 979,104. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $259.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $253.23. Equifax has a 1-year low of $199.98 and a 1-year high of $309.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $31.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.63.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The credit services provider reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.08. Equifax had a net margin of 10.68% and a return on equity of 18.81%. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.41 billion. Analysts expect that Equifax will post 7.58 EPS 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 issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 23rd. This is a positive change from Equifax's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Equifax's payout ratio is presently 40.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equifax

In other news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 22,160 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 142,395 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $36,539,980.95. The trade was a 13.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 value of $518,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 65,176 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,887,101.60. The trade was a 2.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in shares of Equifax by 1,920.0% during the fourth 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. purchased a new stake in Equifax in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Equifax in the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its stake in Equifax by 505.0% in the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 121 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new stake in Equifax in the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.20% of the company's stock.

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.