Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Announces Earnings Results

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The credit services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.01, Briefing.com reports. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.44 billion. Equifax had a return on equity of 18.88% and a net margin of 10.67%. The business’s revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.76 EPS.

Equifax Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EFX traded up $2.77 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $283.07. The stock had a trading volume of 192,884 shares, compared to its average volume of 843,326. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $294.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $262.80. Equifax has a 1 year low of $159.95 and a 1 year high of $309.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The company has a market cap of $34.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.58.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Equifax’s payout ratio is 34.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Equifax news, EVP Carla Chaney sold 3,000 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.85, for a total value of $845,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,065,118.75. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.57% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Equifax from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $310.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Equifax from $255.00 to $286.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Equifax from $300.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Equifax from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on Equifax from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $308.00.

Equifax Company Profile

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.