Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Shares Gap Up Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) shares gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $215.29, but opened at $241.27. Equifax shares last traded at $239.20, with a volume of 212,142 shares changing hands.

The credit services provider reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.41 billion. Equifax had a return on equity of 19.13% and a net margin of 10.63%.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on EFX. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Equifax from $340.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Argus lowered shares of Equifax from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Equifax from $313.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Royal Bank of Canada raised Equifax from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, BNP Paribas cut Equifax from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Equifax presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $292.31.

Institutional Trading of Equifax

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Equifax by 2.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 184,890 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $54,329,000 after buying an additional 5,097 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in Equifax in the third quarter valued at about $2,797,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Equifax during the third quarter worth about $95,000. Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Equifax by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 5,872 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,726,000 after buying an additional 855 shares during the period. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Equifax by 23.0% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 6,184 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,817,000 after acquiring an additional 1,155 shares during the period. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Equifax Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market cap of $29.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.55, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.65. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $236.08 and its 200-day moving average is $254.41.

About Equifax

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.