Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Short Interest Up 15.0% in April

Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 5,471,914 shares, a growth of 15.0% from the March 31st total of 4,759,498 shares. Approximately 4.6% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,610,938 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.4 days.

Equifax Trading Up 0.9%

NYSE:EFX opened at $174.10 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $20.73 billion, a PE ratio of 30.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $186.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $203.41. Equifax has a 12 month low of $166.02 and a 12 month high of $281.03.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The credit services provider reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.61 billion. Equifax had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 11.12%.The company’s revenue was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.53 EPS. Equifax has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.150-2.250 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 8.340-8.740 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Equifax will post 8.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th were issued a $0.56 dividend. This is a positive change from Equifax’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 9th. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on EFX shares. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their target price on Equifax from $210.00 to $195.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Equifax from $240.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Equifax from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Equifax from $192.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $265.00 target price on shares of Equifax in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Equifax has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $228.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 37,791 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.40, for a total transaction of $6,515,168.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 271,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,846,252. This trade represents a 12.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Jamil Farshchi sold 6,213 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.81, for a total transaction of $1,216,567.53. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 41,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,035,259.16. The trade was a 13.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 87,462 shares of company stock valued at $16,475,349. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equifax

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Equifax by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,282,951 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,920,535,000 after purchasing an additional 316,048 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,056,441 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,097,147,000 after buying an additional 66,289 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Equifax by 35.8% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,344,531 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $942,676,000 after buying an additional 1,145,921 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its holdings in Equifax by 57.2% during the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,809,879 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $609,693,000 after buying an additional 1,022,819 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Generation Investment Management LLP increased its holdings in Equifax by 6.3% during the third quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP now owns 2,736,467 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $701,986,000 after buying an additional 163,375 shares during the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Equifax

Equifax Inc (NYSE: EFX) is a global data, analytics and technology company that specializes in consumer and commercial credit reporting, decisioning tools and identity solutions. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Equifax is one of the three major consumer credit reporting agencies in the United States and provides credit information and related services to lenders, employers, governments and consumers worldwide.

The company’s offerings include consumer credit reports and scores, credit monitoring and identity protection services, and a range of business-oriented products for risk management, fraud detection and compliance.