Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Hits New 12-Month Low – Should You Sell?

Shares of Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $150.38 and last traded at $150.3130, with a volume of 410242 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $155.32.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on EFX shares. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Equifax from $245.00 to $232.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $182.00 target price (up from $173.00) on shares of Equifax in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Equifax from $230.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $208.00 price objective on shares of Equifax and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn raised Equifax from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $214.00 to $235.00 in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $214.53.

Equifax Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $17.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.33, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $177.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $174.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.60.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The credit services provider reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.05. Equifax had a return on equity of 21.61% and a net margin of 10.73%.The business had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.00 earnings per share. Equifax’s revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equifax has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.150-2.250 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 8.390-8.690 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Equifax, Inc. will post 8.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 31st were issued a $0.56 dividend. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 31st. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equifax

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equifax

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of EFX. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Equifax during the second quarter worth approximately $1,491,357,000. Soroban Capital Partners LP boosted its stake in shares of Equifax by 310.5% during the 1st quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 4,184,569 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $753,515,000 after acquiring an additional 3,165,120 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Equifax by 57.2% during the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,809,879 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $609,693,000 after acquiring an additional 1,022,819 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Equifax by 36.5% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,107,458 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $379,490,000 after acquiring an additional 563,880 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Generation Investment Management LLP bought a new stake in Equifax in the 2nd quarter valued at $290,868,000. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Equifax

Equifax Inc (NYSE: EFX) is a global data, analytics and technology company that provides information solutions to businesses, government agencies and consumers. Its services help organizations assess credit risk, prevent fraud, verify identities, market products and make informed decisions about lending, employment and other transactions.

The company’s offerings include consumer and commercial credit reports, credit scores, fraud-prevention and identity-management tools, income and employment verification services, mortgage and housing data, and workforce-management solutions.