Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Short Interest Update

Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,880,000 shares, a decline of 7.7% from the March 15th total of 3,120,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 759,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.8 days.

Equifax Price Performance

Shares of EFX traded down $4.37 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $238.55. 1,058,410 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 776,154. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $259.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $231.00. The company has a market cap of $29.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. Equifax has a 1 year low of $159.95 and a 1 year high of $275.10.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The credit services provider reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. Equifax had a net margin of 10.36% and a return on equity of 19.40%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.52 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Equifax will post 7.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were given a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EFX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $305.00 target price on shares of Equifax in a research note on Friday, February 9th. TheStreet raised shares of Equifax from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Friday, December 29th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Equifax from $273.00 to $291.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Equifax from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Equifax from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $164.00 to $300.00 in a report on Monday, January 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $267.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. KB Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Equifax during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Equifax during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC purchased a new stake in Equifax during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Equifax during the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Equifax by 70.8% during the third quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 193 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.