Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.06 EPS

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) announced its earnings results on Thursday. The credit services provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.06, Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $1.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.40 billion. Equifax had a return on equity of 19.08% and a net margin of 10.42%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.43 EPS.

Equifax Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE EFX opened at $216.20 on Friday. Equifax has a one year low of $159.95 and a one year high of $275.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.73. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $257.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $231.21. The company has a market cap of $26.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.51.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. Equifax’s payout ratio is 34.74%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on EFX shares. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on shares of Equifax from $291.00 to $272.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Equifax from $208.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Evercore ISI raised Equifax from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $210.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Equifax from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $305.00 price objective on shares of Equifax in a report on Thursday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $266.35.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equifax

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. purchased a new stake in Equifax during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,799,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 51,056 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $12,626,000 after purchasing an additional 1,395 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its position in shares of Equifax by 11.2% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 4,558 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,127,000 after purchasing an additional 460 shares in the last quarter. AKO Capital LLP increased its holdings in shares of Equifax by 30.8% in the fourth quarter. AKO Capital LLP now owns 666,628 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $164,850,000 after purchasing an additional 156,892 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venture Visionary Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $221,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

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.