Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Releases Q4 Earnings Guidance

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) issued an update on its fourth quarter earnings guidance on Wednesday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $2.08-2.18 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.20. The company issued revenue guidance of $1.438-1.458 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $1.47 billion. Equifax also updated its FY 2024 guidance to 7.250-7.350 EPS.

Equifax Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE:EFX traded down $0.17 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $289.96. 1,153,537 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 840,413. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. Equifax has a 12 month low of $159.95 and a 12 month high of $309.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 64.62, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a fifty day moving average of $294.61 and a 200 day moving average of $262.48.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The credit services provider reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. Equifax had a net margin of 10.67% and a return on equity of 18.88%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.71 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Equifax will post 7.36 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were given a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on EFX shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Equifax from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Equifax in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $360.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Equifax from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Equifax from $263.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Equifax from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $310.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Equifax currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $307.74.

Insider Transactions at Equifax

In related news, EVP Carla Chaney sold 3,000 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.85, for a total value of $845,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,875 shares in the company, valued at $3,065,118.75. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

About Equifax

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.