Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Wells Fargo & Company Analyst Says

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) had its target price increased by Wells Fargo & Company from $306.00 to $310.00 in a research note released on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the credit services provider's stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Equifax in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Barclays reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $260.00 price objective (down from $325.00) on shares of Equifax in a report on Friday, April 4th. Bank of America cut Equifax from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $300.00 to $285.00 in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Equifax from $277.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $305.00 price objective (up from $295.00) on shares of Equifax in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $295.19.

Equifax Price Performance

Shares of Equifax stock traded up $0.12 on Monday, hitting $264.20. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,346,121 shares, compared to its average volume of 991,403. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. Equifax has a 1 year low of $199.98 and a 1 year high of $309.63. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $264.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $252.98. The company has a market capitalization of $32.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.60.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 return on equity of 18.81% and a net margin of 10.68%. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.41 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Equifax will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 23rd. This is a boost from Equifax's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. Equifax's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 22,160 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.61, for a total value of $5,686,477.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 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 SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 65,176 shares in the company, valued at $16,887,101.60. This represents a 2.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Equifax

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EFX. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in Equifax by 1,920.0% in the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 101 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Equifax in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Equifax in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Colonial Trust Co SC raised its position in Equifax by 505.0% in the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 121 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new stake in Equifax in the first quarter valued at 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.