Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,070,000 shares, a drop of 8.8% from the November 15th total of 2,270,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,020,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.0 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on EFX. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Equifax from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $275.00 to $320.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 price target on shares of Equifax in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Equifax from $305.00 to $284.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Equifax in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $360.00 target price for the company. Finally, BNP Paribas raised Equifax from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Equifax currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $311.39.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.49, for a total value of $15,770,648.96. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 109,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,532,909.67. This represents a 34.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa M. Nelson sold 551 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.39, for a total transaction of $143,474.89. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,045,781.83. This trade represents a 4.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 59,855 shares of company stock valued at $16,187,044 over the last quarter. 1.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Equifax

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp lifted its stake in 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 buying an additional 52,489 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Equifax by 4.9% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in Equifax by 37.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,233,744 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $950,268,000 after buying an additional 880,162 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Equifax by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 3,044,561 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $738,184,000 after acquiring an additional 70,091 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equifax by 1.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,885,661 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $845,041,000 after purchasing an additional 29,742 shares during the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Equifax Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:EFX traded up $0.15 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $273.65. The stock had a trading volume of 1,878,381 shares, compared to its average volume of 879,669. Equifax has a 12-month low of $213.02 and a 12-month high of $309.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. The company has a market cap of $33.92 billion, a PE ratio of 60.81, a P/E/G ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 1.57. The company’s 50 day moving average is $267.36 and its 200-day moving average is $270.89.

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. Equifax had a net margin of 10.07% and a return on equity of 18.56%. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.76 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Equifax will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were given a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.67%.

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.