Hsbc Holdings PLC Raises Stock Holdings in Equifax, Inc. $EFX

Key Points

• Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in Equifax, Inc. to 256,932 shares, representing a 0.6% rise, with a total value around $62.4 million at the end of Q1.
• Equifax recently reported $2.00 EPS for Q2, exceeding analyst expectations of $1.92, while the company's revenue was also above estimates.
• An upcoming dividend of $0.50 per share is set to be paid on September 15th, with an annualized yield of 0.8% based on current share prices.

Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in shares of Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 0.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 256,932 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,444 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned 0.21% of Equifax worth $62,408,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in EFX. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Equifax by 49.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,638 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $927,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Guggenheim Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Equifax by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 1,998 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $509,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax during the 4th quarter worth approximately $23,057,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Equifax by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 629,568 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $160,451,000 after purchasing an additional 46,577 shares during the period. Finally, Dark Forest Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Equifax by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 1,628 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $415,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on EFX. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Equifax from $260.00 to $240.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $305.00 price target (up previously from $295.00) on shares of Equifax in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Equifax from $277.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Bank of America cut shares of Equifax from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $300.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Equifax from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Equifax currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $283.53.

Insider Activity at Equifax

In other news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 48,264 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.71, for a total transaction of $11,665,891.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 142,872 shares in the company, valued at $34,533,591.12. The trade was a 25.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Equifax Price Performance

EFX traded down $3.36 on Tuesday, hitting $247.40. 353,186 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,049,478. Equifax, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $199.98 and a fifty-two week high of $309.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $252.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $250.28. The stock has a market cap of $30.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.52, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.64.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.92 by $0.08. Equifax had a net margin of 10.95% and a return on equity of 18.89%. The company had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.82 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. 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, equities analysts anticipate that Equifax, Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. Equifax's payout ratio is currently 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.