Bank of Nova Scotia Takes $2 Million Position in Equifax, Inc. $EFX

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia acquired a new $2 million stake in Equifax during the second quarter, purchasing 12,611 shares. Institutional investors collectively own 96.2% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with Equifax holding a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating from 20 analysts and an average price target of $216.89. Recent targets range from $182 to $235.
• Equifax exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $2.25 in EPS and $1.70 billion in revenue, while revenue grew 10.6% year over year. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.56 per share, yielding about 1.2% annually.

Bank of Nova Scotia bought a new position in Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 12,611 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,002,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in EFX. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Equifax by 49.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,638 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $927,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC bought a new position in Equifax in the first quarter valued at about $204,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Equifax by 14.6% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,523 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $615,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Equifax by 14.5% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 7,632 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,979,000 after purchasing an additional 966 shares during the period. Finally, AXA S.A. grew its stake in shares of Equifax by 699.9% during the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 8,671 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $2,249,000 after purchasing an additional 7,587 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EFX has been the topic of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $182.00 price objective on shares of Equifax in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Equifax from $222.00 to $194.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded shares of Equifax from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $214.00 to $235.00 in a research note on Friday, August 21st. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Equifax in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Equifax from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Equifax currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $216.89.

Equifax Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EFX opened at $190.50 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $22.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.30. Equifax, Inc. has a 1-year low of $150.74 and a 1-year high of $271.84. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $173.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $178.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The credit services provider reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.70 billion. Equifax had a net margin of 10.73% and a return on equity of 21.61%. Equifax's revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.00 EPS. Equifax has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.150-2.250 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 8.390-8.690 EPS. Research analysts expect that Equifax, Inc. will post 8.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be paid a $0.56 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Equifax's dividend payout ratio is 39.37%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 37,791 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.16, for a total transaction of $6,506,098.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 271,890 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $46,808,582.40. This trade represents a 12.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

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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