Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Takes Position in Equifax, Inc. $EFX

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 4,092 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $888,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Equifax by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,674 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $363,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. bought a new position in Equifax during the 4th quarter valued at $95,000. MJP Associates Inc. ADV boosted its stake in Equifax by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV now owns 1,611 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $350,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in Equifax by 15.4% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 628 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $136,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. bought a new position in Equifax during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equifax Trading Up 1.2%

Equifax stock opened at $165.86 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $174.66 and its 200-day moving average is $195.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.61. Equifax, Inc. has a 1 year low of $156.47 and a 1 year high of $275.91. The company has a market cap of $19.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.20, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.35.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The credit services provider reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.17. Equifax had a net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.61 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.53 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equifax has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.150-2.250 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 8.340-8.740 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Equifax, Inc. will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 22nd will be given a $0.56 dividend. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 22nd. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.44%.

Insider Transactions at Equifax

In other news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 37,791 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.40, for a total value of $6,515,168.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 271,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,846,252. This trade represents a 12.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Chad M. Borton sold 2,455 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.89, for a total transaction of $426,899.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 29,518 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,132,885.02. The trade was a 7.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on EFX shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Equifax from $240.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets set a $195.00 price objective on shares of Equifax in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Equifax from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $265.00 price objective on shares of Equifax in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Equifax from $240.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equifax presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $226.67.

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.