Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Announces Earnings Results

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The credit services provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.06, Briefing.com reports. Equifax had a net margin of 10.36% and a return on equity of 19.40%. The business had revenue of $1.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.43 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equifax updated its Q2 guidance to $1.65-1.75 EPS and its FY24 guidance to $7.20-7.50 EPS.

Equifax Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE:EFX traded down $0.89 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $237.68. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,604,569 shares, compared to its average volume of 787,348. Equifax has a 1 year low of $159.95 and a 1 year high of $275.10. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $259.23 and a 200-day moving average of $231.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.53 billion, a PE ratio of 54.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.45%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on EFX shares. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Equifax from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $210.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Equifax from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Friday, December 29th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Equifax from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of Equifax from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $272.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Equifax from $195.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $267.00.

Institutional Trading of Equifax

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Penserra Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Equifax by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 637 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $123,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Equifax by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,188 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $231,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. BSW Wealth Partners increased its holdings in shares of Equifax by 3.5% during the first quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 1,518 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $308,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. United Capital Financial Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Equifax by 4.0% during the first quarter. United Capital Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,411 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $334,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of Equifax by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,041 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $202,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equifax Company Profile

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.