Equifax (NYSE:EFX) versus Experian (OTCMKTS:EXPGY) Critical Contrast

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) and Experian (OTCMKTS:EXPGY) are both large-cap industrials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, risk, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and valuation.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Equifax and Experian”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Equifax	$6.44 billion	3.22	$660.30 million	$5.69	31.07
Experian	$8.45 billion	3.99	$1.50 billion	N/A	N/A

Experian has higher revenue and earnings than Equifax.

Volatility and Risk

Equifax has a beta of 1.3, indicating that its share price is 30% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Experian has a beta of 1.23, indicating that its share price is 23% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Equifax pays an annual dividend of $2.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.3%. Experian pays an annual dividend of $0.91 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. Equifax pays out 39.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Equifax has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

96.2% of Equifax shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.3% of Experian shares are held by institutional investors. 1.7% of Equifax shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Experian shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Equifax and Experian, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Equifax	0	6	13	0	2.68
Experian	0	0	1	1	3.50

Equifax presently has a consensus target price of $215.79, suggesting a potential upside of 22.05%. Given Equifax’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Equifax is more favorable than Experian.

Profitability

This table compares Equifax and Experian’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Equifax	10.73%	21.61%	8.41%
Experian	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

Equifax beats Experian on 9 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

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. The USIS segment provides consumer and commercial information services, such as credit information and credit scoring, credit modeling and portfolio analytics, locate, fraud detection and prevention, identity verification, and other consulting services; mortgage services; financial marketing services; identity management services; and credit monitoring products. The International segment offers information service products, which include consumer and commercial services, such as credit and financial information, and credit scoring and modeling; and credit and other marketing products and services, as well as offers information, technology, and other services to support debt collections and recovery management. The company serves customers in financial services, mortgage, retail, telecommunications, utilities, automotive, brokerage, healthcare, and insurance industries, as well as government agencies. It operates in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, India, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, Spain, the United Kingdom, Uruguay, and the United States. The company was founded in 1899 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

About Experian

Experian plc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a technology company in North America, Latin America, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It operates in two segments, Business-to-Business and Consumer Services. The company collects, sorts, aggregates, and transforms data from various sources to provide a range of data-driven services. It also owns, create, and develops analytics, predictive tools, sophisticated software, and platforms; credit risk, fraud prevention, identity management, customer service and engagement, account processing, and account management services; data analysis, and research and development services. In addition, the company provides credit education, free access to Experian credit reports and scores, and online educational tools. It serves its customers in financial service, direct-to-consumer, health, retail, automotive, software and professional services, telecoms and utility, insurance, media and technology, and other industries, as well as government and public sectors. The company was formerly known as Experian Group Limited and changed its name to Experian plc in July 2008. Experian plc was founded in 1826 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland.