Equifax, Inc. $EFX Shares Acquired by Hsbc Holdings PLC

Key Points

• HSBC Holdings PLC increased its Equifax stake by 10% in the fourth quarter, ending with 276,544 shares valued at about $60.1 million.
• Equifax reported better-than-expected Q1 earnings of $1.86 per share on revenue of $1.65 billion, while also issuing full-year 2026 guidance of $8.34 to $8.74 EPS.
• The stock has seen mixed signals: analysts still rate it Moderate Buy overall, but several firms recently trimmed price targets, and CEO Mark W. Begor and EVP Chad M. Borton both sold shares earlier this year.

Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 10.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 276,544 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 25,053 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned about 0.23% of Equifax worth $60,105,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at about $275,635,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Equifax by 35.8% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,344,531 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $942,676,000 after acquiring an additional 1,145,921 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in Equifax by 57.2% in the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,809,879 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $609,693,000 after acquiring an additional 1,022,819 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in Equifax by 105.5% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,603,415 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $347,909,000 after acquiring an additional 823,116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Equifax by 91.0% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,464,135 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $317,688,000 after acquiring an additional 697,403 shares in the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equifax Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE EFX opened at $171.86 on Monday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $165.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $187.41. Equifax, Inc. has a 12 month low of $150.74 and a 12 month high of $275.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The company has a market capitalization of $20.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.32.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The credit services provider reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.17. Equifax had a net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.61 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.53 earnings per share. Equifax's quarterly revenue was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equifax has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.150-2.250 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 8.340-8.740 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Equifax, Inc. will post 8.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 22nd were given a dividend of $0.56 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Equifax's payout ratio is 39.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on EFX. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their price objective on shares of Equifax from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Equifax from $230.00 to $220.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $173.00 target price on shares of Equifax in a report on Friday, June 26th. Rothschild & Co Redburn decreased their price target on Equifax from $226.00 to $214.00 in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Equifax from $244.00 to $243.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $223.39.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 37,791 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.40, for a total value of $6,515,168.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 271,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $46,846,252. This represents a 12.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Chad M. Borton sold 2,455 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.89, for a total transaction of $426,899.95. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 29,518 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,132,885.02. This trade represents a 7.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 currently owned by insiders.

Equifax Company Profile

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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