Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Announces Earnings Results

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The credit services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.01, Briefing.com reports. Equifax had a return on equity of 18.88% and a net margin of 10.67%. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.76 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Equifax Price Performance

Shares of EFX opened at $280.30 on Friday. Equifax has a 52-week low of $159.95 and a 52-week high of $309.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $294.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $262.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.65 billion, a PE ratio of 62.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.58.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. Equifax’s payout ratio is 34.74%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on EFX. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Equifax in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $360.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Equifax from $277.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Equifax from $273.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. BNP Paribas raised Equifax from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $310.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Equifax from $250.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $307.74.

Insider Activity at Equifax

In other Equifax news, EVP Carla Chaney sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.85, for a total transaction of $845,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,065,118.75. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.