Brasada Capital Management LP Decreases Stake in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Brasada Capital Management LP cut its holdings in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 70.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 8,645 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 20,248 shares during the period. Brasada Capital Management LP’s holdings in Equifax were worth $2,140,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 5,097 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Equifax during the third quarter worth $2,797,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Equifax in the 3rd quarter valued at $95,000. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Equifax by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 5,872 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,726,000 after acquiring an additional 855 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Equifax by 23.0% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 6,184 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,817,000 after acquiring an additional 1,155 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Trading Up 14.1 %

NYSE EFX opened at $245.74 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.75. The firm has a market cap of $30.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.88, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.65. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $235.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $254.35. Equifax Inc. has a one year low of $199.98 and a one year high of $309.63.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The credit services provider reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.08. Equifax had a net margin of 10.63% and a return on equity of 19.13%. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.41 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.63%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on EFX. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Equifax in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $280.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Equifax from $335.00 to $310.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on Equifax from $325.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Equifax from $313.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their price target on Equifax from $286.00 to $279.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $292.31.

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.