Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Updates Q4 Earnings Guidance

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) updated its fourth quarter earnings guidance on Wednesday. The company provided earnings per share guidance of $2.08-2.18 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Equifax in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $360.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Equifax from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Citigroup raised 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. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Equifax in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $275.00 target price for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Equifax from $277.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $307.74.

Equifax Price Performance

Equifax stock opened at $289.95 on Thursday. Equifax has a 12-month low of $159.95 and a 12-month high of $309.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market cap of $35.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 64.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $294.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $262.68.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The credit services provider reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.09. Equifax had a net margin of 10.67% and a return on equity of 18.88%. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.71 EPS. Equifax’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Equifax will post 7.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Equifax news, EVP Carla Chaney sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,065,118.75. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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.