Selected stock price target news of the day - October 20th, 2023

By: Matthew Otto

Knight Surpasses Q3 Earnings Expectations

Knight-Swift Transportation has reported third-quarter earnings, with earnings per share (EPS) at 41 cents, surpassing Wall Street’s expectations of 36 cents. The sales figure of $2 billion also exceeded forecasts of $1.9 billion. There’s a cautious undertone as the company adjusted its guidance for 2023, lowering the EPS midpoint from $2.20 to $2.15. The updated full-year guidance suggests a fourth-quarter EPS of approximately 52 cents a share, which is higher than Wall Street’s estimate of 47 cents. The CEO, David Jackson, highlighted that freight demand remains stable, particularly in the less-than-truckload market, which contributes about 12% to Knight’s sales.

Analysts Raise Price Targets for Costco Amid Positive Outlook

TD Cown analyst Jason Seidl maintained a Buy rating and a $58 price target.
Evercore ISI analyst Jonathan Chappell reiterated a Hold rating and set a $55 price target.
JP Morgan analyst Brian Ossenbeck upgraded from Underweight to Neutral and the price target from $54 to $57.
Morgan Stanley analyst Ravi Shanker maintained an Overweight rating and increased the price target from $70 to $75.

Which Analyst has the best track record to show on KNX?

Analyst Patrick Brown (RAYMOND JAMES) currently has the highest performing score on KNX with 12/13 (92.31%) price target fulfillment ratio. His price targets carry an average of $5.01 (10.79%) potential upside. Knight-Swift Transportation Wholesale stock price reaches these price targets on average within 159 days.

Equifax Q3 2023 Earnings Highlights

Equifax reported its Q3 2023 earnings, facing challenges in the U.S. mortgage market that significantly weakened in August and September. Mortgage rates surged above 7%, approaching almost 8%, marking a 20-year high. The company’s Q3 revenue reached $1.32 billion, reflecting a 6% increase on a reported basis, a 6.5% rise on a constant currency basis, and a 3.5% uptick on an organic, constant currency basis. Adjusted EPS stood at $1.76 per share, representing a 2% increase compared to the previous year. Notably, the acquisition of Brazilian credit bureau BVS in August contributed $23 million to revenue and $0.02 per share to adjusted EPS, exceeding the July framework. However, the U.S. mortgage market’s significant decline impacted Equifax’s revenue by approximately $28 million and adjusted EPS by about $0.10 per share.

Non-mortgage constant dollar revenue witnessed an 11% surge in Q3, outpacing last year’s growth rate of 20%. Sequentially, non-mortgage organic growth strengthened by 300 basis points from the second quarter. The workforce solutions segment exhibited growth, contributing over 11% to non-mortgage revenue. Equifax’s cloud transformation progressed, with approximately 75% of North American revenue delivered from the new Equifax Cloud by the end of Q3. The company maintained its focus on cost reduction, aiming to achieve spending reductions of $210 million in 2023 and anticipating further savings in 2024. Looking ahead to Q4, Equifax forecasts revenue of $1.317 billion, and adjusted EPS of $1.77. The guidance includes the expected contribution of $38 million from BVS, representing about 3% of revenue growth.

Equifax Receives Price Target Reductions from Analysts

Morgan Stanley’s Toni Kaplan maintained an Equal-Weight and lowered the price target from $204 to $196.
Needham’s Kyle Peterson reiterated a Buy rating and lowered the price target from $250 to $230.
JPMorgan’s Andrew Steinerman decreased the price target to $230.
Wells Fargo’s Seth Weber lowered the price target to $200.

Which Analyst has the best track record to show on EFX?

Analyst Jeffrey Meuler (BAIRD) currently has the highest performing score on EFX with 8/12 (66.67%) price target fulfillment ratio. His price targets carry an average of $30.32 (17.88%) potential upside. Equifax stock price reaches these price targets on average within 171 days.

Discover Financial Services Q3 2023: Growth Amid Challenges

Discover Financial Services reported its third-quarter 2023 financial results, showcasing a net income of $683 million, a decline from the previous year’s $1 billion. The provision expense witnessed an increase of $929 million, attributed to heightened reserves and charge-offs. Notably, the company experienced revenue growth of 17% year-over-year, driven primarily by strong asset expansion.

Net interest income surged by $479 million, reflecting a 17% increase. The net interest margin closed the quarter at 10.95%, a marginal decrease of 10 basis points from the prior year. Receivable growth was notable, with card receivables increasing by 16% year-over-year. Discover’s credit performance indicated a total net charge-off rate of 3.52%, marking an increase of 181 basis points compared to the prior year and a 30 basis points uptick from the previous quarter.

The company also increased its reserves by $601 million, resulting in a 22 basis points rise in the reserve rate to just over 7%. The common equity Tier 1 for the period stood at 11.6%. Looking forward, Discover expects mid-teens loan growth, maintaining a net interest margin expectation of approximately 11% for the full year, with operating expenses anticipated to rise in the low double digits. Net charge-offs are expected to remain in the range of 3.4% to 3.6% for the year.

Analysts Downgrades and Adjusts Price Target

BMO Capital’s James Fotheringham maintained a Market Perform and lowered the price target to $99 from $100.
Morgan Stanley’s Betsy Graseck reiterated an Equal-Weight and lowered price target to $95 from $100.
RBC Capital’s Jon Arfstrom decreased the price target to $108.
Wells Fargo’s Donald Fandetti lowered the price target to $90.

Which Analyst has the best track record to show on DFS?

Analyst Eric Wasserstrom (UBS) currently has the highest performing score on DFS with 10/12 (83.33%) price target fulfillment ratio. His price targets carry an average of $13.81 (23.06%) potential upside. Discover Financial Services stock price reaches these price targets on average within 228 days.