Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Short Interest Update

Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,480,000 shares, a growth of 13.2% from the October 15th total of 2,190,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 917,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.7 days.

Equifax Stock Down 0.8 %

EFX stock traded down $1.92 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $246.35. The stock had a trading volume of 71,625 shares, compared to its average volume of 859,415. Equifax has a 1-year low of $204.16 and a 1-year high of $309.63. The company has a fifty day moving average of $282.67 and a 200 day moving average of $267.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.17, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.59.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The credit services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.44 billion. Equifax had a net margin of 10.07% and a return on equity of 18.56%. The company’s revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.76 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Equifax will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is 34.67%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.49, for a total transaction of $15,770,648.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 109,183 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,532,909.67. The trade was a 34.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.92, for a total transaction of $272,920.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,269 shares in the company, valued at $3,075,535.48. This represents a 8.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equifax

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,045,398 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,757,425,000 after buying an additional 342,170 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Equifax by 1.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,033,448 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,754,228,000 after acquiring an additional 137,961 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Equifax by 1.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,816,186 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,415,284,000 after purchasing an additional 52,489 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Equifax by 4.9% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,276,798 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,036,952,000 after purchasing an additional 200,665 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Equifax by 37.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,233,744 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $950,268,000 after purchasing an additional 880,162 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EFX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Equifax in a research note on Friday, October 18th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Equifax from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $310.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Equifax from $300.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Citigroup upped their price target on Equifax from $263.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 price objective on shares of Equifax in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $310.47.

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.