Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Price Target Raised to $310.00

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) had its price target increased by Wells Fargo & Company from $306.00 to $310.00 in a report published on Monday,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on EFX. Bank of America cut Equifax from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $300.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Equifax in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $305.00 target price (up from $295.00) on shares of Equifax in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Equifax from $277.00 to $296.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, BNP Paribas lowered Equifax from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $296.53.

Equifax Price Performance

EFX opened at $265.75 on Monday. Equifax has a 12-month low of $199.98 and a 12-month high of $309.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $264.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $253.06. The company has a market cap of $33.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.60.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The credit services provider reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.41 billion. Research analysts predict that Equifax will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.75%. This is an increase from Equifax’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.90%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 22,160 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 142,395 shares in the company, valued at $36,539,980.95. This trade represents a 13.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 65,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,887,101.60. The trade was a 2.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Equifax

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in Equifax by 1,920.0% in the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 101 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Colonial Trust Co SC lifted its position in Equifax by 505.0% during the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 121 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in Equifax during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.