Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Downgraded to “Peer Perform” Rating by Wolfe Research

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wolfe Research from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on EFX. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 price objective on shares of Equifax in a report on Monday, October 28th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Equifax from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $310.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of Equifax from $315.00 to $286.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Equifax from $304.00 to $283.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Equifax from $300.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $311.67.

Equifax Trading Up 0.8 %

Equifax stock opened at $262.74 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $268.70 and its 200-day moving average is $269.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. Equifax has a 1 year low of $213.02 and a 1 year high of $309.63. The company has a market cap of $32.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.39, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 1.57.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The credit services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.01. Equifax had a net margin of 10.07% and a return on equity of 18.56%. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.44 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.76 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Equifax will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Lisa M. Nelson sold 551 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.39, for a total transaction of $143,474.89. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,045,781.83. This trade represents a 4.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.49, for a total transaction of $15,770,648.96. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 109,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,532,909.67. This represents a 34.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 59,855 shares of company stock worth $16,187,044 over the last ninety days. 1.66% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Equifax

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its position in Equifax by 76.1% during the second quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Equifax during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Crewe Advisors LLC raised its position in Equifax by 138.2% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 131 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Equifax by 271.4% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 156 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Equifax

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.