Petrus Trust Company LTA Makes New $306,000 Investment in Equifax, Inc. $EFX

Key Points

• Petrus Trust Company LTA has invested $306,000 in Equifax, acquiring 1,258 shares of the company in the first quarter, as reported in their 13F filing with the SEC.
• Equifax experienced several changes in institutional holdings, with notable increases from firms like Brighton Jones LLC and D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc., bringing institutional ownership to 96.20%.
• Equifax's recent earnings report showed a profit of $2.00 per share, exceeding analyst expectations, and the company plans to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share on September 15th.

Petrus Trust Company LTA acquired a new stake in Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,258 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $306,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Equifax in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Equifax in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in Equifax in the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. City Holding Co. acquired a new stake in Equifax in the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Equifax in the 1st quarter worth about $38,000. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on EFX shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Equifax from $277.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Equifax from $310.00 to $289.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. UBS Group dropped their target price on Equifax from $315.00 to $278.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Bank of America downgraded Equifax from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $300.00 to $285.00 in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Equifax from $277.00 to $272.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $283.53.

Equifax Stock Performance

Shares of EFX traded down $3.77 on Friday, reaching $256.46. 733,369 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 880,827. The firm has a market cap of $31.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. Equifax, Inc. has a 12 month low of $199.98 and a 12 month high of $309.63. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $249.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $250.24.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The credit services provider reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.92 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.51 billion. Equifax had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 10.95%.The business's revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior 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. Equities analysts forecast that Equifax, Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 48,264 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 142,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,533,591.12. This trade represents a 25.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.