Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Given Outperform Rating at Royal Bank of Canada

Equifax (NYSE:EFX)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating restated by investment analysts at Royal Bank of Canada in a research report issued on Friday, November 17th, Benzinga reports.

EFX has been the subject of several other reports. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on shares of Equifax from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 19th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Equifax from $260.00 to $239.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Equifax from $204.00 to $196.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Equifax from $215.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 20th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on Equifax from $195.00 to $175.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $216.00.

Equifax Price Performance

Shares of EFX opened at $210.74 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $184.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $202.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. Equifax has a twelve month low of $159.95 and a twelve month high of $240.35. The company has a market cap of $25.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.41.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 19th. The credit services provider reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by ($0.02). Equifax had a return on equity of 19.15% and a net margin of 10.15%. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.73 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Equifax will post 6.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equifax

In other Equifax news, Director Melissa D. Smith bought 914 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 26th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $166.27 per share, for a total transaction of $151,970.78. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $263,704.22. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Equifax news, Director Melissa D. Smith purchased 914 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 26th. The shares were bought at an average price of $166.27 per share, for a total transaction of $151,970.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $263,704.22. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.58, for a total value of $1,166,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 63,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,496,372.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.75% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equifax

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its stake in Equifax by 273.3% in the 2nd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 112 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. KB Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equifax during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Spire Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Equifax by 118.5% in the first quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 142 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. 98.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.