Equifax, Inc. $EFX is Ceredex Value Advisors LLC's 3rd Largest Position

Key Points

• Ceredex Value Advisors LLC has increased its stake in Equifax, Inc. by 226.3%, making it the 3rd largest position in their portfolio with an ownership of approximately $83.7 million.
• Research analysts have set new price targets for Equifax, with the average target now around $283.53, while several firms have maintained an "overweight" rating on the stock.
• Equifax announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, indicating a payout ratio of 39.14% and an annualized yield of 0.8%.

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 226.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 343,618 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 238,318 shares during the period. Equifax accounts for about 1.8% of Ceredex Value Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC owned about 0.28% of Equifax worth $83,692,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd boosted its stake in Equifax by 642.4% during the 1st quarter. Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd now owns 24,661 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $6,006,000 after purchasing an additional 21,339 shares during the period. Quantitative Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Equifax in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,833,000. RBO & Co. LLC lifted its position in shares of Equifax by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. RBO & Co. LLC now owns 68,958 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $16,795,000 after buying an additional 406 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in shares of Equifax by 30.6% during the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,834 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $934,000 after buying an additional 898 shares during the period. Finally, Allstate Corp lifted its position in shares of Equifax by 46.5% during the 1st quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 5,386 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,312,000 after buying an additional 1,710 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on EFX shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Equifax in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $305.00 price objective (up from $295.00) on shares of Equifax in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Equifax from $277.00 to $272.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Equifax from $280.00 to $260.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Equifax from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $283.53.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 48,264 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.71, for a total value of $11,665,891.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 142,872 shares of the company's stock, valued at $34,533,591.12. The trade was a 25.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Equifax Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of Equifax stock opened at $250.8860 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $252.32 and a 200-day moving average of $250.28. The stock has a market cap of $31.06 billion, a PE ratio of 49.10, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.64. Equifax, Inc. has a 52-week low of $199.98 and a 52-week high of $309.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The credit services provider reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.92 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.51 billion. Equifax had a net margin of 10.95% and a return on equity of 18.89%. Equifax's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.82 earnings per share. Equifax has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 1.870-1.970 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 7.330-7.630 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Equifax, Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. Equifax's payout ratio is presently 39.14%.

Equifax Profile

Equifax Inc operates as a data, analytics, and technology company. The company operates through three segments: Workforce Solutions, U.S. Information Solutions (USIS), and International. The Workforce Solutions segment offers services that enables customers to verify income, employment, educational history, criminal justice data, healthcare professional licensure, and sanctions of people in the United States; and employer customers with services that assist them in complying with and automating payroll-related and human resource management processes throughout the entire cycle of the employment relationship.

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