Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $267.00.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on EFX shares. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Equifax from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Equifax from $208.00 to $289.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Equifax from $273.00 to $291.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Bank of America upgraded Equifax from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $164.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Equifax from $195.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 29th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equifax

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Tobam raised its stake in Equifax by 37.2% during the 4th quarter. Tobam now owns 568 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $140,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Equifax in the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Equifax by 38.8% in the third quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 113,315 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $20,757,000 after purchasing an additional 31,686 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in Equifax by 243.0% in the 3rd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 11,181 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,048,000 after buying an additional 7,921 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Equifax during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,240,000. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equifax Price Performance

Equifax stock opened at $237.68 on Friday. Equifax has a 52-week low of $159.95 and a 52-week high of $275.10. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $259.14 and a 200-day moving average of $231.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.02, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The credit services provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.40 billion. Equifax had a net margin of 10.36% and a return on equity of 19.40%. The business’s revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.43 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Equifax will post 7.53 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were given a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.45%.

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.