Elwood & Goetz Wealth Advisory Group LLC Makes New Investment in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Elwood & Goetz Wealth Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 870 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $256,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Equifax by 76.1% during the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Equifax in the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Crewe Advisors LLC grew its position in Equifax by 138.2% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 131 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, First Community Trust NA purchased a new stake in Equifax during the second quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Stock Down 0.7 %

EFX opened at $269.81 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Equifax Inc. has a one year low of $159.95 and a one year high of $309.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $293.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $263.52.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The credit services provider reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.01. Equifax had a return on equity of 18.88% and a net margin of 10.67%. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.76 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Equifax Inc. will post 7.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. Equifax’s payout ratio is presently 34.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on EFX. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Equifax from $263.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Equifax from $277.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Equifax from $290.00 to $333.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Equifax in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Equifax from $250.00 to $271.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $310.47.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Carla Chaney sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.85, for a total transaction of $845,550.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,065,118.75. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

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.