Versor Investments LP Grows Stock Position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Versor Investments LP raised its holdings in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 624.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,505 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,607 shares during the quarter. Versor Investments LP’s holdings in Equifax were worth $1,658,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Greenleaf Trust grew its stake in Equifax by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 1,702 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $434,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Equifax by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 1,012 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $258,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Equifax by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 879 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $224,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Equifax by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 799 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $204,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its position in Equifax by 3.7% during the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 1,474 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $401,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EFX opened at $244.22 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.56, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.58. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $256.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $272.14. Equifax Inc. has a 12 month low of $213.02 and a 12 month high of $309.63.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.12. Equifax had a net margin of 10.63% and a return on equity of 19.13%. Analysts expect that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on EFX. Wolfe Research downgraded Equifax from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Equifax from $321.00 to $313.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Gordon Haskett raised Equifax to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Equifax from $335.00 to $310.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Equifax from $340.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $301.13.

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.