Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Declares $0.39 Quarterly Dividend

Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 5th,RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a dividend of 0.39 per share by the credit services provider on Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%.

Equifax has a payout ratio of 14.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Equifax to earn $8.74 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.56 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 17.8%.

Equifax Price Performance

Shares of EFX stock traded up $3.58 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $270.35. The stock had a trading volume of 1,169,145 shares, compared to its average volume of 893,648. Equifax has a 12-month low of $213.02 and a 12-month high of $309.63. The company has a market cap of $33.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.58. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $261.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $275.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EFX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Equifax from $321.00 to $313.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Equifax from $340.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 price target on shares of Equifax in a report on Monday, October 28th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Equifax from $305.00 to $284.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Equifax from $290.00 to $333.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $310.41.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equifax

In other Equifax news, EVP Lisa M. Nelson sold 551 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.39, for a total value of $143,474.89. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,045,781.83. This represents a 4.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.66% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.