Canoe Financial LP Purchases 779,005 Shares of Equifax, Inc. $EFX

Canoe Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 4,373.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 796,817 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 779,005 shares during the quarter. Canoe Financial LP owned approximately 0.68% of Equifax worth $111,339,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of EFX. Raiffeisen Bank International AG boosted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 3,590 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $569,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Equifax by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 1,730 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $312,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Droms Strauss Advisors Inc. MO ADV increased its stake in shares of Equifax by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Droms Strauss Advisors Inc. MO ADV now owns 5,435 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $979,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in shares of Equifax by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 13,647 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $2,457,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equifax by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 4,314 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $685,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Equifax

In related news, CEO Mark Begor sold 37,791 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 271,890 shares in the company, valued at $46,808,582.40. This trade represents a 12.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 4,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.96, for a total transaction of $845,820.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 69,055 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,979,577.80. This trade represents a 6.12% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Key Equifax News

Here are the key news stories impacting Equifax this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Third-quarter earnings beat expectations: Equifax reported adjusted EPS of $2.26, above the $2.20 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $1.693 billion, up approximately 10% year over year and in line with forecasts. Growth was broad-based, with U.S. Information Solutions revenue up 13%, International revenue up 9%, and Workforce Solutions revenue up 7%. Equifax third-quarter results
• Positive Sentiment: Cost controls and capital returns supported the quarter: Lower selling, general and administrative expenses and AI-driven efficiency efforts helped profitability. Equifax also returned $158 million to shareholders through $92 million of stock repurchases and $66 million in dividends. Equifax earnings and lower SG&A expenses
• Positive Sentiment: Needham raised its price target: Needham lifted its target for EFX from $190 to $210 and reiterated a “Buy” rating, signaling confidence in the company’s longer-term growth prospects despite near-term mortgage weakness.
• Neutral Sentiment: Underlying markets remain mixed: Equifax said diversified markets revenue grew 8% and state-agency contract signings reached $550 million in annual contract value. Its credit trends data also indicated that U.S. millennials have surpassed Generation X in aggregate debt, a development that may increase demand for credit information while highlighting consumer-credit risks. Equifax global credit trends
• Negative Sentiment: Fourth-quarter guidance missed estimates: EFX forecast fourth-quarter EPS of $2.07-$2.17 versus the $2.21 consensus and revenue of about $1.6 billion versus $1.7 billion expected. Full-year EPS guidance of $8.45-$8.55 is near consensus, but revenue guidance of $6.6-$6.7 billion is below the $6.7 billion estimate.
• Negative Sentiment: Mortgage-market weakness is the main headwind: Rising interest rates caused U.S. mortgage transaction volumes to decline meaningfully late in the quarter, prompting Equifax to reduce its outlook. Management also warned that inflation is putting greater pressure on lower-income consumers.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Equifax from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Equifax from $238.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Equifax from $245.00 to $232.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Equifax from $212.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Equifax from $230.00 to $210.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $200.00.

Equifax Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EFX opened at $175.46 on Thursday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $166.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $169.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.60. Equifax, Inc. has a 1-year low of $137.01 and a 1-year high of $238.94. The company has a market cap of $20.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.35.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The credit services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.06. Equifax had a net margin of 11.27% and a return on equity of 22.48%. The company had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.04 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Equifax, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 31st were given a dividend of $0.56 per share. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 31st. Equifax's payout ratio is currently 39.37%.

About Equifax

Equifax Inc NYSE: EFX is a global data, analytics and technology company that provides information and services to help businesses, governments and consumers make informed financial and workforce decisions. The company is best known for its credit reporting activities, but its offerings also include identity verification, fraud prevention, income and employment verification, marketing services and risk management solutions.

Equifax provides consumer and commercial credit information, credit reports and related analytics to lenders and other businesses.

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