Engineers Gate Manager LP Makes New $2.66 Million Investment in Equifax, Inc. $EFX

Key Points

• Engineers Gate Manager LP acquired 16,743 Equifax shares worth approximately $2.66 million during the second quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 96.2% of EFX shares.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with 15 Buy ratings and six Holds, an overall “Moderate Buy” consensus, and an average price target of $215.16 versus the reported share price of $172.29.
• Equifax exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $2.25 in EPS and $1.70 billion in revenue, while revenue rose 10.6% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.56 per share, representing a 1.3% yield.

Engineers Gate Manager LP acquired a new position in shares of Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 16,743 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,657,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of EFX. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Equifax by 42.5% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,146 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $499,000 after purchasing an additional 938 shares during the period. Vulcan Value Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Equifax in the 2nd quarter valued at about $14,404,000. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in shares of Equifax by 4.0% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 34,587 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $5,490,000 after buying an additional 1,317 shares in the last quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Equifax by 26.8% during the second quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 6,541 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,038,000 after buying an additional 1,384 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Carmignac Gestion increased its stake in shares of Equifax by 94.9% during the second quarter. Carmignac Gestion now owns 710,685 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $112,798,000 after buying an additional 346,080 shares during the period. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on EFX. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Equifax from $245.00 to $232.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $182.00 price objective (up from $173.00) on shares of Equifax in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $208.00 price objective on shares of Equifax and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Equifax from $220.00 to $212.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on Equifax from $238.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $215.16.

Equifax Stock Performance

Shares of EFX opened at $172.29 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $20.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.31. Equifax, Inc. has a 52-week low of $150.74 and a 52-week high of $271.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $179.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $176.85.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The credit services provider reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.00 earnings per share. 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 predict that Equifax, Inc. will post 8.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.56 per share. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 31st. Equifax's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equifax

In related news, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 4,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.96, for a total value of $845,820.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 69,055 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,979,577.80. The trade was a 6.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Mark Begor sold 37,791 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.16, for a total transaction of $6,506,098.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 271,890 shares of the company's stock, valued at $46,808,582.40. This represents a 12.20% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Equifax Profile

Equifax Inc NYSE: EFX is a global data, analytics and technology company that provides information solutions to businesses, government agencies and consumers. Its services help organizations assess credit risk, prevent fraud, verify identities, market products and make informed decisions about lending, employment and other transactions.

The company's offerings include consumer and commercial credit reports, credit scores, fraud-prevention and identity-management tools, income and employment verification services, mortgage and housing data, and workforce-management solutions.

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