Equifax, Inc. $EFX Holdings Lifted by Tidal Investments LLC

Key Points

• Tidal Investments increased its Equifax stake by 74% in the second quarter, bringing its holdings to 59,010 shares valued at approximately $9.4 million. Other hedge funds also added positions, and institutions collectively own 96.2% of Equifax.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with 15 analysts rating Equifax a Buy and six rating it Hold. The stock has a consensus price target of $215.16, while Rothschild & Co. Redburn upgraded the shares to Buy with a $235 target.
• Equifax reported quarterly EPS of $2.25, beating estimates by $0.05, while revenue rose 10.6% year over year to $1.70 billion. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.56 per share, equivalent to a 1.3% annualized yield.

Tidal Investments LLC raised its stake in Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 74.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 59,010 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 25,091 shares during the quarter. Tidal Investments LLC owned 0.05% of Equifax worth $9,366,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Engineers Gate Manager LP acquired a new position in Equifax in the second quarter worth approximately $2,657,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 938 shares during the period. Vulcan Value Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equifax during the 2nd quarter worth $14,404,000. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in Equifax by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 34,587 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $5,490,000 after buying an additional 1,317 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Waverly Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Equifax by 26.8% in the 2nd quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 6,541 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,038,000 after acquiring an additional 1,384 shares during the period. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised Equifax from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $214.00 to $235.00 in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Equifax from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Mizuho decreased their price target on Equifax from $222.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Equifax from $222.00 to $194.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $208.00 price objective on shares of Equifax and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $215.16.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equifax

In other Equifax news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 37,791 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.16, for a total value of $6,506,098.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 271,890 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $46,808,582.40. The trade was a 12.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 Gamble 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 transaction of $845,820.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 69,055 shares in the company, valued at $12,979,577.80. This represents a 6.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

Equifax Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE EFX opened at $168.94 on Friday. The firm's 50-day moving average is $179.14 and its 200-day moving average is $177.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Equifax, Inc. has a 1 year low of $150.74 and a 1 year high of $271.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.85 billion, a PE ratio of 29.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.31.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The credit services provider reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.05. Equifax had a net margin of 10.73% and a return on equity of 21.61%. The company had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.00 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equifax has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.150-2.250 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 8.390-8.690 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Equifax, Inc. will post 8.55 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be paid a $0.56 dividend. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. Equifax's dividend payout ratio is presently 39.37%.

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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