Needham & Company LLC Cuts Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Price Target to $245.00

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) had its price objective lowered by Needham & Company LLC from $265.00 to $245.00 in a report issued on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their price objective on shares of Equifax from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Equifax from $225.00 to $217.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Equifax from $230.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Equifax from $215.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Equifax from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.79.

Equifax Trading Up 3.2%

NYSE EFX opened at $172.08 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Equifax has a 52 week low of $150.74 and a 52 week high of $271.84. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $165.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $182.66. The company has a market cap of $20.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.32.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The credit services provider reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. Equifax had a net margin of 10.73% and a return on equity of 21.61%. Equifax’s revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.00 EPS. Equifax has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.150-2.250 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 8.390-8.690 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Equifax will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 22nd were issued a $0.56 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.37%.

Insider Activity at Equifax

In related news, EVP Chad M. Borton sold 2,455 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.89, for a total transaction of $426,899.95. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 29,518 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,132,885.02. This trade represents a 7.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equifax

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in Equifax by 16.9% during the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 401 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 64.4% in the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 148 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Athena Investment Management grew its position in shares of Equifax by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Athena Investment Management now owns 2,608 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $566,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Equifax by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,276 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $277,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Equifax by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 1,980 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $430,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Equifax

Equifax Inc (NYSE: EFX) is a global data, analytics and technology company that specializes in consumer and commercial credit reporting, decisioning tools and identity solutions. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Equifax is one of the three major consumer credit reporting agencies in the United States and provides credit information and related services to lenders, employers, governments and consumers worldwide.

The company’s offerings include consumer credit reports and scores, credit monitoring and identity protection services, and a range of business-oriented products for risk management, fraud detection and compliance.