Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Lifted to Neutral at BNP Paribas

by · The Markets Daily

BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Equifax (NYSE:EFX – Free Report) from an underperform rating to a neutral rating in a report released on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm currently has $310.00 price objective on the credit services provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on EFX. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Equifax in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. They issued an outperform rating and a $275.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Equifax from $273.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Equifax from $255.00 to $286.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Equifax from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on shares of Equifax from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $302.06.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Equifax

Equifax Stock Down 1.0 %

NYSE:EFX opened at $299.09 on Thursday. Equifax has a 1 year low of $159.95 and a 1 year high of $309.63. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $287.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $259.30. The stock has a market cap of $36.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 66.61, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The credit services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. Equifax had a return on equity of 18.88% and a net margin of 10.67%. Equifax’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.71 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Equifax will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.74%.

Insider Transactions at Equifax

In related news, EVP Carla Chaney sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.85, for a total value of $845,550.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,065,118.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equifax in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Equifax in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Equifax by 76.1% during the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Equifax during the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Equifax by 138.2% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 131 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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