Equifax’s (EFX) “Buy” Rating Reiterated at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Equifax (NYSE:EFX) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. Needham & Company LLC currently has a $305.00 price target on the credit services provider’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised 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. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Equifax from $273.00 to $291.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. TheStreet upgraded Equifax from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a research report on Friday, December 29th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Equifax from $208.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Equifax from an in-line rating to an outperform rating and lifted their target price for the company from $210.00 to $310.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Equifax presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $267.00.

Equifax Price Performance

EFX stock opened at $217.51 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $258.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $230.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market cap of $27.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.51. Equifax has a 52-week low of $159.95 and a 52-week high of $275.10.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The credit services provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.06. Equifax had a return on equity of 19.33% and a net margin of 10.42%. The company had revenue of $1.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.43 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Equifax will post 7.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.74%.

Institutional Trading of Equifax

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Equifax by 15.6% during the 1st quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 97,931 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,199,000 after buying an additional 13,212 shares during the last quarter. Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Equifax by 1.2% during the first quarter. Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 21,739 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,816,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. Thrive Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Equifax by 8.8% during the first quarter. Thrive Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,102 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Seed Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax during the first quarter worth about $209,000. Finally, First Financial Corp IN acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax during the first quarter worth about $56,000. 96.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.