Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Short Interest Up 15.0% in April

Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 5,471,914 shares, a growth of 15.0% from the March 31st total of 4,759,498 shares. Currently, 4.6% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,610,938 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.4 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on EFX shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Equifax from $244.00 to $243.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Equifax from $240.00 to $230.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Equifax in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $250.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Equifax from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Equifax from $240.00 to $215.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $228.88.

Insider Activity at Equifax

In other news, EVP Jamil Farshchi sold 6,213 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.81, for a total value of $1,216,567.53. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 41,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,035,259.16. This trade represents a 13.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 37,791 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.40, for a total value of $6,515,168.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 271,730 shares in the company, valued at $46,846,252. This trade represents a 12.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 87,462 shares of company stock worth $16,475,349 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equifax

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its holdings in Equifax by 6.0% in the third quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 392,560 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $100,703,000 after acquiring an additional 22,302 shares in the last quarter. Explore Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Equifax by 34.6% during the third quarter. Explore Capital Management LLC now owns 40,930 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $10,500,000 after acquiring an additional 10,530 shares in the last quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Equifax by 164.6% in the 3rd quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 8,034 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $2,061,000 after purchasing an additional 4,998 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Equifax by 27.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 767,982 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $197,018,000 after purchasing an additional 163,866 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Equifax by 34.0% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 383,441 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $98,364,000 after purchasing an additional 97,347 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Equifax Price Performance

EFX opened at $174.10 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $186.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $203.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company has a market cap of $20.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.56. Equifax has a 12-month low of $166.02 and a 12-month high of $281.03.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The credit services provider reported $1.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.61 billion. Equifax had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 11.12%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.53 earnings per share. Equifax has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.150-2.250 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 8.340-8.740 EPS. Research analysts predict that Equifax will post 8.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 9th were paid a dividend of $0.56 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 9th. This is an increase from Equifax's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Equifax's payout ratio is presently 39.44%.

About Equifax

Equifax Inc NYSE: EFX is a global data, analytics and technology company that specializes in consumer and commercial credit reporting, decisioning tools and identity solutions. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Equifax is one of the three major consumer credit reporting agencies in the United States and provides credit information and related services to lenders, employers, governments and consumers worldwide.

The company's offerings include consumer credit reports and scores, credit monitoring and identity protection services, and a range of business-oriented products for risk management, fraud detection and compliance.

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