Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Issues Earnings Results

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) announced its earnings results on Tuesday. The credit services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.06, FiscalAI reports. Equifax had a return on equity of 21.61% and a net margin of 10.73%. The company had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.69 billion.

Equifax Price Performance

Shares of EFX opened at $158.31 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $18.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.82, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.35. Equifax has a fifty-two week low of $137.01 and a fifty-two week high of $238.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $167.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $169.95.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 31st were paid a dividend of $0.56 per share. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 31st. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.37%.

Insider Transactions at Equifax

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on EFX. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Equifax from $179.00 to $160.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of Equifax in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised Equifax from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $214.00 to $235.00 in a research note on Friday, August 21st. BNP Paribas Exane increased their target price on Equifax from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Oppenheimer cut Equifax from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.05.

About Equifax

Equifax Inc (NYSE: EFX) is a global data, analytics and technology company that provides information and services to help businesses, governments and consumers make informed financial and workforce decisions. The company is best known for its credit reporting activities, but its offerings also include identity verification, fraud prevention, income and employment verification, marketing services and risk management solutions.

Equifax provides consumer and commercial credit information, credit reports and related analytics to lenders and other businesses.