Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Short Interest Up 47.7% in February

Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 5,345,609 shares, a growth of 47.7% from the January 29th total of 3,618,696 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 3,119,945 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.7 days. Approximately 4.5% of the company’s shares are sold short. Approximately 4.5% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 3,119,945 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.7 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on EFX shares. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on Equifax from $271.00 to $266.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 12th. UBS Group set a $230.00 price target on shares of Equifax in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Equifax from $253.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Equifax from $269.00 to $244.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $220.00 target price on shares of Equifax in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $240.33.

Equifax Stock Up 0.4%

Equifax stock traded up $0.93 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $208.78. 1,258,350 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,227,749. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market cap of $25.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.24, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.55. The business has a fifty day moving average of $207.40 and a 200 day moving average of $222.70. Equifax has a 12-month low of $166.02 and a 12-month high of $281.03.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.53 billion. Equifax had a return on equity of 19.27% and a net margin of 10.87%.The business’s revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.12 EPS. Equifax has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.300-8.700 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.630-1.730 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Equifax will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be paid a $0.56 dividend. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. This is a positive change from Equifax’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 9th. Equifax’s payout ratio is 37.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equifax

In other Equifax news, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.72, for a total transaction of $880,740.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 58,921 shares in the company, valued at $11,532,018.12. This represents a 7.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Jamil Farshchi sold 1,167 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.87, for a total value of $233,248.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 39,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,968,617.03. This trade represents a 2.84% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 49,671 shares of company stock worth $9,960,181 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Equifax

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EFX. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its stake in Equifax by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 392,560 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $100,703,000 after acquiring an additional 22,302 shares during the last quarter. Explore Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Equifax by 34.6% in the third quarter. Explore Capital Management LLC now owns 40,930 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $10,500,000 after purchasing an additional 10,530 shares during the last quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Equifax by 164.6% in the third quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 8,034 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,061,000 after purchasing an additional 4,998 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 27.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 767,982 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $197,018,000 after purchasing an additional 163,866 shares during the period. Finally, ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its position in Equifax by 18.4% in the third quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 178,203 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $45,714,000 after buying an additional 27,740 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Company Profile

Equifax Inc (NYSE: EFX) is a global data, analytics and technology company that specializes in consumer and commercial credit reporting, decisioning tools and identity solutions. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Equifax is one of the three major consumer credit reporting agencies in the United States and provides credit information and related services to lenders, employers, governments and consumers worldwide.

The company’s offerings include consumer credit reports and scores, credit monitoring and identity protection services, and a range of business-oriented products for risk management, fraud detection and compliance.