Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,270,000 shares, a drop of 8.5% from the October 31st total of 2,480,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,020,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.2 days.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.92, for a total transaction of $272,920.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,269 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,075,535.48. The trade was a 8.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.49, for a total value of $15,770,648.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 109,183 shares in the company, valued at $29,532,909.67. This represents a 34.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 59,855 shares of company stock worth $16,187,044. Corporate insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Equifax

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Equifax during the third quarter valued at $29,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Equifax by 76.1% during the second quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Crewe Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Equifax by 138.2% in 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 last quarter. Finally, First Community Trust NA acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax in the second quarter valued at about $33,000. 96.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equifax Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of EFX stock traded down $2.57 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $258.99. The stock had a trading volume of 295,019 shares, compared to its average volume of 873,429. Equifax has a 52-week low of $213.02 and a 52-week high of $309.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $273.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $268.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.10 billion, a PE ratio of 58.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 1.59.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The credit services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.44 billion. Equifax had a net margin of 10.07% and a return on equity of 18.56%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.76 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Equifax will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. Equifax’s payout ratio is 34.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EFX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of Equifax from $315.00 to $286.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Equifax from $304.00 to $283.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Equifax from $250.00 to $271.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 target price on shares of Equifax in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Equifax from $305.00 to $284.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $306.74.

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.