Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Short Interest Up 7.2% in December

Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,220,000 shares, a growth of 7.2% from the November 30th total of 2,070,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,010,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.2 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research lowered Equifax from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Equifax from $300.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Equifax in a report on Friday, October 18th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Equifax from $305.00 to $284.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Equifax from $290.00 to $333.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $311.18.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.49, for a total transaction of $15,770,648.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 109,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,532,909.67. The trade was a 34.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Lisa M. Nelson sold 551 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.39, for a total transaction of $143,474.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,697 shares in the company, valued at $3,045,781.83. This represents a 4.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 59,855 shares of company stock worth $16,187,044 over the last three months. 1.66% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equifax

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of EFX. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax during the second quarter worth about $15,646,000. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Equifax by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 184,890 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $54,329,000 after buying an additional 5,097 shares in the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its position in Equifax by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 54,509 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $13,216,000 after buying an additional 2,047 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Equifax by 16.3% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 584,820 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $141,789,000 after acquiring an additional 81,966 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Equifax by 3.7% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 6,397 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,880,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equifax Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of EFX stock opened at $254.85 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $261.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $272.19. The firm has a market cap of $31.59 billion, a PE ratio of 56.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 1.57. Equifax has a 1-year low of $213.02 and a 1-year high of $309.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion during 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.76 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Equifax will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. Equifax’s payout ratio is 34.67%.

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.