Needham & Company LLC Reiterates Buy Rating for Equifax (NYSE:EFX)

Equifax (NYSE:EFX)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by equities research analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $265.00 target price on the credit services provider’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 50.04% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered their target price on shares of Equifax from $226.00 to $214.00 in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Equifax from $244.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. UBS Group upped their price target on Equifax from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Equifax from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on Equifax from $250.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $223.39.

Equifax Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:EFX traded up $4.68 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $176.62. 525,637 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,796,847. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $165.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $187.09. Equifax has a 52-week low of $150.74 and a 52-week high of $275.91. The company has a market cap of $21.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.32.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The credit services provider reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.61 billion. Equifax had a net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.53 earnings per share. Equifax has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.150-2.250 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 8.340-8.740 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Equifax will post 8.57 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 37,791 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.40, for a total value of $6,515,168.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 271,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,846,252. This trade represents a 12.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Chad M. Borton sold 2,455 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.89, for a total value of $426,899.95. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 29,518 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,132,885.02. The trade was a 7.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Equifax

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Soroban Capital Partners LP raised its stake in Equifax by 310.5% in the 1st quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 4,184,569 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $753,515,000 after purchasing an additional 3,165,120 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax during the fourth quarter worth $275,635,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Equifax by 35.8% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,344,531 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $942,676,000 after buying an additional 1,145,921 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its position in shares of Equifax by 57.2% in the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,809,879 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $609,693,000 after buying an additional 1,022,819 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Equifax by 105.5% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,603,415 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $347,909,000 after buying an additional 823,116 shares during the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equifax Company Profile

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.