Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Research Coverage Started at StockNews.com

Equities researchers at StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Equifax (NYSE:EFX – Get Rating) in a note issued to investors on Thursday. The brokerage set a “sell” rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on EFX. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Equifax from $160.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Equifax from $196.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 18th. Barclays raised their price target on Equifax from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Equifax from $165.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Equifax from $197.00 to $194.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $212.67.

Equifax Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE EFX opened at $199.26 on Thursday. Equifax has a 52 week low of $145.98 and a 52 week high of $243.79. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $210.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $193.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.41 billion, a PE ratio of 35.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.45.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 8th. The credit services provider reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.18 billion. Equifax had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 24.19%. The company’s revenue was down 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.84 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Equifax will post 7.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equifax

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC acquired a new position in Equifax in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its position in Equifax by 111.5% in the 4th quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 129 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. OLD Mission Capital LLC acquired a new position in Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Concord Wealth Partners acquired a new position in Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Equifax in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.84% of the company’s stock.

About Equifax

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Equifax, Inc engages in the provision of information solutions and human resources business process outsourcing services. It operates through the following business segments: U.S. Information Solutions, Workforce Solutions and International. The U.S. Information Solutions segment includes consumer and commercial information services, mortgage loan origination information, financial marketing services, and identity management.