Stifel Nicolaus Cuts Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Price Target to $284.00

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) had its target price reduced by Stifel Nicolaus from $305.00 to $284.00 in a report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

EFX has been the subject of several other research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Equifax from $250.00 to $271.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Equifax from $300.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Equifax from $304.00 to $283.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Equifax from $277.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Equifax in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $360.00 price target on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $306.74.

Equifax Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE EFX opened at $253.58 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $277.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $267.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. Equifax has a 1 year low of $208.67 and a 1 year high of $309.63. The firm has a market cap of $31.43 billion, a PE ratio of 56.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.59.

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

Equifax Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.62%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.49, for a total value of $15,770,648.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 109,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,532,909.67. This represents a 34.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.92, for a total value of $272,920.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,269 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,075,535.48. The trade was a 8.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equifax

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of EFX. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Equifax during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Equifax during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Equifax by 76.1% in the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Equifax in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by 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.