Equifax’s (EFX) “Equal Weight” Rating Reaffirmed at Barclays

Barclays reiterated their equal weight rating on shares of Equifax (NYSE:EFX) in a report issued on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has a $260.00 price objective on the credit services provider’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $325.00.

EFX has been the subject of several other reports. Argus cut shares of Equifax from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Equifax from $320.00 to $316.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Equifax from $340.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Royal Bank of Canada raised Equifax from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Equifax in a report on Friday, February 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $294.50.

Equifax Price Performance

Shares of EFX opened at $210.30 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $248.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $261.59. Equifax has a 1-year low of $209.89 and a 1-year high of $309.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.25 billion, a PE ratio of 43.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.65.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12. Equifax had a return on equity of 19.13% and a net margin of 10.63%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Equifax will post 7.58 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.30%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equifax

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EFX. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position in Equifax by 15.4% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 583 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $142,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 21.6% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,583 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,226,000 after purchasing an additional 2,948 shares during the last quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH grew its position in shares of Equifax by 3,372.2% in the fourth quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 46,527 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $11,857,000 after purchasing an additional 45,187 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in Equifax during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,964,000. Finally, Integrated Advisors Network LLC boosted its stake in Equifax by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 1,595 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $406,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

About Equifax

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.