Robert W. Baird Cuts Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Price Target to $260.00

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) had its target price cut by Robert W. Baird from $275.00 to $260.00 in a research note released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on EFX. TheStreet raised Equifax from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a report on Friday, December 29th. Bank of America raised shares of Equifax from an underperform rating to a buy rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $164.00 to $300.00 in a report on Monday, January 8th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a buy rating and issued a $305.00 target price on shares of Equifax in a report on Thursday, April 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Equifax from $195.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, December 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Equifax from $208.00 to $289.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $270.19.

Equifax Price Performance

Shares of Equifax stock opened at $218.93 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $27.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.51. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $257.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $232.21. Equifax has a twelve month low of $159.95 and a twelve month high of $275.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.73.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The credit services provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.06. Equifax had a return on equity of 19.08% and a net margin of 10.42%. The company had revenue of $1.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.43 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Equifax will post 7.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.71%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.74%.

Institutional Trading of Equifax

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of EFX. KB Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equifax in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in Equifax by 70.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 193 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 55.5% in the third quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 199 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.