Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Releases Q2 Earnings Guidance

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) issued an update on its second quarter earnings guidance on Wednesday morning. The company provided EPS guidance of $1.65-1.75 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of $1.87. The company issued revenue guidance of $1.41-1.43 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $1.44 billion. Equifax also updated its FY24 guidance to $7.20-7.50 EPS.

Equifax Price Performance

NYSE EFX traded down $0.89 on Wednesday, reaching $237.68. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,572,710 shares, compared to its average volume of 783,348. Equifax has a twelve month low of $159.95 and a twelve month high of $275.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market cap of $29.53 billion, a PE ratio of 54.22, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.51. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $259.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $231.00.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The credit services provider reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. Equifax had a return on equity of 19.40% and a net margin of 10.36%. Equifax’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.52 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Equifax will post 7.53 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. 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 currently 35.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Equifax from $273.00 to $291.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Equifax from $195.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, December 29th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Equifax from $208.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Equifax from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic lowered Equifax from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $272.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $267.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equifax

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. acquired a new stake in Equifax during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,799,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its stake in Equifax by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 51,056 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $12,626,000 after acquiring an additional 1,395 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its stake in Equifax by 11.2% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 4,558 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,127,000 after acquiring an additional 460 shares during the period. AKO Capital LLP grew its stake in Equifax by 30.8% in the fourth quarter. AKO Capital LLP now owns 666,628 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $164,850,000 after acquiring an additional 156,892 shares during the period. Finally, Venture Visionary Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Equifax in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $221,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

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.