Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Short Interest Down 8.5% in November

Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,270,000 shares, a decrease of 8.5% from the October 31st total of 2,480,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,020,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.2 days.

Equifax Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of EFX traded down $0.14 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $261.09. The company had a trading volume of 130,598 shares, compared to its average volume of 870,655. Equifax has a 1-year low of $213.02 and a 1-year high of $309.63. The stock has a market cap of $32.36 billion, a PE ratio of 58.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.57. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $272.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $268.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The credit services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.01. Equifax had a return on equity of 18.56% and a net margin of 10.07%. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.44 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.76 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Equifax will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on EFX. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Equifax from $277.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on Equifax from $315.00 to $286.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays upped their target price on Equifax from $300.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Equifax from $305.00 to $284.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised Equifax from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $310.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Equifax has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $306.74.

Insider Activity at Equifax

In other Equifax news, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.92, for a total value of $272,920.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,269 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,075,535.48. This represents a 8.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.49, for a total value of $15,770,648.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 109,183 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,532,909.67. This represents a 34.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 59,855 shares of company stock worth $16,187,044 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Equifax

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of EFX. Conning Inc. increased its stake in Equifax by 4.7% during the second quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 848 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $206,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Equifax by 1.2% during the second quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 3,726 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $903,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Cromwell Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Equifax by 13.5% during the third quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 371 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $109,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust increased its stake in shares of Equifax by 3.0% during the third quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 1,665 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $489,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Equifax by 3.7% during the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 1,474 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $401,000 after buying an additional 53 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.