Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Stock Gets Price Target Trim from Morgan Stanley

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) had its price target decreased by Morgan Stanley from $225.00 to $205.00 in a report published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Equifax from $222.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Citigroup cut their target price on Equifax from $238.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Equifax from $212.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Equifax from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on Equifax from $222.00 to $194.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $203.15.

Equifax Stock Performance

EFX stock opened at $161.28 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $18.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.34, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $167.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $170.22. Equifax has a fifty-two week low of $137.01 and a fifty-two week high of $238.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The credit services provider reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. Equifax had a net margin of 10.73% and a return on equity of 21.61%. Equifax’s revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.00 EPS. Equifax has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.150-2.250 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 8.390-8.690 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Equifax will post 8.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 31st were paid a $0.56 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 31st. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Equifax’s payout ratio is currently 39.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP John Gamble sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.96, for a total transaction of $845,820.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 69,055 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,979,577.80. This trade represents a 6.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 37,791 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.16, for a total transaction of $6,506,098.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 271,890 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,808,582.40. The trade was a 12.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equifax

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of EFX. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax during the second quarter worth $1,491,357,000. Soroban Capital Partners LP boosted its position in shares of Equifax by 310.5% in the 1st quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 4,184,569 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $753,515,000 after purchasing an additional 3,165,120 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Equifax by 36.5% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,107,458 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $379,490,000 after purchasing an additional 563,880 shares during the period. Cantillon Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Equifax by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,791,379 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $322,574,000 after purchasing an additional 67,381 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Generation Investment Management LLP purchased a new position in Equifax in the 2nd quarter worth about $290,868,000. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Equifax Company Profile

Equifax Inc (NYSE: EFX) is a global data, analytics and technology company that helps businesses, government agencies and consumers make informed decisions about credit, identity, employment and financial risk. The company collects and analyzes information from a broad range of sources to provide insights and decisioning tools for lenders, employers, insurers, telecommunications providers and other organizations.

Its products and services include consumer and commercial credit reports, credit scores, fraud and identity-management solutions, marketing and customer-acquisition analytics, and income and employment verification through The Work Number.