Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The credit services provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.06, Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $1.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.40 billion. Equifax had a return on equity of 19.40% and a net margin of 10.36%. Equifax's revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.43 EPS.

Equifax Stock Performance

NYSE EFX traded down $0.89 on Wednesday, reaching $237.68. The stock had a trading volume of 1,566,536 shares, compared to its average volume of 787,436. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67. Equifax has a 12-month low of $159.95 and a 12-month high of $275.10. The business's 50-day moving average price is $259.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $231.05. The stock has a market cap of $29.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.51.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. Equifax's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.45%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equifax

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Penserra Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Equifax by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 637 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $123,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Equifax by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,188 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $231,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. BSW Wealth Partners increased its holdings in shares of Equifax by 3.5% in the first quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 1,518 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $308,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. United Capital Financial Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Equifax by 4.0% in the first quarter. United Capital Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,411 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $334,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of Equifax by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,041 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $202,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EFX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America raised Equifax from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $164.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Equifax from $195.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, December 29th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $305.00 price target on shares of Equifax in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Equifax from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, TheStreet raised Equifax from a "c+" rating to a "b-" rating in a research report on Friday, December 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equifax has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $267.00.

Equifax Company 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.