Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.06 EPS

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The credit services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.06, FiscalAI reports. The company had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.69 billion. Equifax had a return on equity of 21.61% and a net margin of 10.73%.

Equifax Price Performance

EFX opened at $158.31 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $167.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $169.95. Equifax has a 12-month low of $137.01 and a 12-month high of $238.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.82, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.35.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 31st were issued 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 was Monday, August 31st. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.37%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.96, for a total transaction of $845,820.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 69,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,979,577.80. This trade represents a 6.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Mark Begor sold 37,791 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 271,890 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,808,582.40. The trade was a 12.20% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EFX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays decreased their target price on Equifax from $200.00 to $155.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $148.00 price target on Equifax in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Weiss Ratings raised Equifax from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised Equifax from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $214.00 to $235.00 in a report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Equifax from $194.00 to $177.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.05.

Equifax Company Profile

Equifax Inc (NYSE: EFX) is a global data, analytics and technology company that provides information and services to help businesses, governments and consumers make informed financial and workforce decisions. The company is best known for its credit reporting activities, but its offerings also include identity verification, fraud prevention, income and employment verification, marketing services and risk management solutions.

Equifax provides consumer and commercial credit information, credit reports and related analytics to lenders and other businesses.