Royal Bank Of Canada Reiterates Outperform Rating for Equifax (NYSE:EFX)

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "outperform" rating reiterated by stock analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $300.00 target price on the credit services provider's stock. Royal Bank Of Canada's price target indicates a potential upside of 17.67% from the stock's previous close.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Bank of America initiated coverage on Equifax in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $280.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $305.00 price objective (up previously from $295.00) on shares of Equifax in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Equifax from $288.00 to $306.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Equifax from $277.00 to $296.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Gordon Haskett raised Equifax to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $293.75.

Equifax Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:EFX opened at $254.94 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.66 billion, a PE ratio of 52.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.63. 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 current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm's 50-day moving average is $257.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $253.38.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.41 billion. Analysts predict that Equifax will post 7.58 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Equifax news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 22,160 shares of the business'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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 142,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,539,980.95. The trade was a 13.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction on 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. This trade represents 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.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equifax

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Equifax by 40.0% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,037,804 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,714,129,000 after purchasing an additional 2,009,987 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Equifax in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $330,400,000. Generation Investment Management LLP lifted its stake in shares of Equifax by 63.4% during the first quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP now owns 2,801,325 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $682,291,000 after buying an additional 1,087,446 shares during the period. Harris Associates L P boosted its position in Equifax by 27.6% during the first quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 4,570,557 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,113,205,000 after acquiring an additional 987,772 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Equifax by 7,883,233.3% in the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 946,000 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $241,087,000 after acquiring an additional 945,988 shares during the period. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.