Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Receives “Buy” Rating from Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reiterated their buy rating on shares of Equifax (NYSE:EFX) in a research report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Needham & Company LLC currently has a $295.00 target price on the credit services provider’s stock.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Equifax from $287.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Equifax in a research report on Monday, October 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $271.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Equifax from $280.00 to $260.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Barclays lowered their price objective on Equifax from $260.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Equifax from $300.00 to $285.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Equifax currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $280.93.

Equifax Trading Down 0.8%

EFX opened at $229.33 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.39 billion, a PE ratio of 44.88, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.68. Equifax has a 1-year low of $199.98 and a 1-year high of $281.07. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $245.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $250.75.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 21st. The credit services provider reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.52 billion. Equifax had a net margin of 10.95% and a return on equity of 18.89%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.85 EPS. Equifax has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.980-2.080 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 7.550-7.650 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Equifax will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 2nd. Equifax’s payout ratio is presently 39.14%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 48,264 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.71, for a total transaction of $11,665,891.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 142,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,533,591.12. The trade was a 25.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equifax

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Country Trust Bank acquired a new position in shares of Equifax in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equifax in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equifax in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Caldwell Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Equifax in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new position in shares of Equifax in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.