Jefferies Financial Group Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Stock Price

by · The Cerbat Gem

Equifax (NYSE:EFX – Get Free Report) had its target price reduced by analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $340.00 to $300.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the credit services provider’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price target suggests a potential upside of 13.55% from the company’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on EFX. UBS Group initiated coverage on Equifax in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $360.00 target price on the stock. BNP Paribas upgraded Equifax from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Equifax from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $275.00 to $320.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Equifax from $325.00 to $321.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Equifax from $305.00 to $284.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $311.12.

Read Our Latest Report on Equifax

Equifax Trading Up 4.7 %

Equifax stock traded up $11.86 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $264.20. 537,322 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 840,455. Equifax has a 52 week low of $213.02 and a 52 week high of $309.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.75 billion, a PE ratio of 58.71, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $258.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $272.98.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The credit services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.01. Equifax had a net margin of 10.07% and a return on equity of 18.56%. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.44 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.76 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Equifax will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Equifax

In other Equifax news, EVP Lisa M. Nelson sold 551 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.39, for a total value of $143,474.89. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,045,781.83. This represents a 4.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.92, for a total value of $272,920.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,269 shares in the company, valued at $3,075,535.48. The trade was a 8.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 59,855 shares of company stock worth $16,187,044 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EFX. State Street Corp increased its position in Equifax by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,816,186 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,415,284,000 after purchasing an additional 52,489 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Equifax by 37.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,233,744 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $950,268,000 after buying an additional 880,162 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Equifax by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 3,044,561 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $738,184,000 after acquiring an additional 70,091 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,885,661 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $845,041,000 after acquiring an additional 29,742 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 76,913.8% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 960,362 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $282,212,000 after acquiring an additional 959,115 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

About Equifax

(Get Free Report)

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.

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