Elwood Capital Partners LP Takes Position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Elwood Capital Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 7,500 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,911,000. Equifax comprises about 1.9% of Elwood Capital Partners LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Greenleaf Trust lifted its position in Equifax by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 1,702 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $434,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Equifax by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 1,012 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its holdings in Equifax by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 817 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $208,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Equifax by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 879 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Equifax by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 799 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $204,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EFX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Equifax from $320.00 to $316.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Equifax to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Equifax from $284.00 to $281.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Argus cut Equifax from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on Equifax from $286.00 to $279.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $298.56.

Equifax Stock Performance

NYSE:EFX opened at $243.72 on Tuesday. Equifax Inc. has a twelve month low of $213.02 and a twelve month high of $309.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $251.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $263.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.23 billion, a PE ratio of 50.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.65.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12. Equifax had a net margin of 10.63% and a return on equity of 19.13%. On average, analysts anticipate that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Equifax’s payout ratio is 32.30%.

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.