Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.06 EPS

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The credit services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.06, FiscalAI reports. Equifax had a return on equity of 21.61% and a net margin of 10.73%. The company had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.69 billion.

Equifax Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of EFX opened at $158.31 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $167.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $169.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market cap of $18.60 billion, a PE ratio of 27.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.35. Equifax has a 52-week low of $137.01 and a 52-week high of $238.94.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st were issued a dividend of $0.56 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 31st. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EFX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded shares of Equifax from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $214.00 to $235.00 in a report on Friday, August 21st. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Equifax from $200.00 to $155.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Equifax from $194.00 to $177.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price objective on shares of Equifax from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Equifax from $210.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Equifax currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.05.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Mark Begor sold 37,791 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.16, for a total value of $6,506,098.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 271,890 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,808,582.40. This trade represents a 12.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.96, for a total value of $845,820.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 69,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,979,577.80. This trade represents a 6.12% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Equifax

Equifax Inc (NYSE: EFX) is a global data, analytics and technology company that provides information and services to help businesses, governments and consumers make informed financial and workforce decisions. The company is best known for its credit reporting activities, but its offerings also include identity verification, fraud prevention, income and employment verification, marketing services and risk management solutions.

Equifax provides consumer and commercial credit information, credit reports and related analytics to lenders and other businesses.