VELA Investment Management LLC Raises Position in Equifax, Inc. $EFX

VELA Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 25.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 24,643 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,069 shares during the period. VELA Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Equifax were worth $3,911,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Equifax by 49.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,638 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $927,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Equifax during the first quarter worth $204,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Equifax by 14.6% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,523 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $615,000 after buying an additional 321 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in Equifax by 14.5% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 7,632 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,979,000 after buying an additional 966 shares during the period. Finally, AXA S.A. increased its position in Equifax by 699.9% during the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 8,671 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,249,000 after acquiring an additional 7,587 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 271,890 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,808,582.40. This represents a 12.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Equifax from $215.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Equifax from $230.00 to $210.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Equifax from $245.00 to $232.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of Equifax in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on Equifax from $222.00 to $194.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.16.

Equifax Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE EFX opened at $177.31 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $20.83 billion, a PE ratio of 31.16, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.31. Equifax, Inc. has a 12 month low of $150.74 and a 12 month high of $271.84. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $178.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $177.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The credit services provider reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. Equifax had a net margin of 10.73% and a return on equity of 21.61%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.00 EPS. Equifax has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.150-2.250 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 8.390-8.690 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Equifax, Inc. will post 8.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.56 per share. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. Equifax’s payout ratio is currently 39.37%.

Equifax Profile

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.