Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Short Interest Down 15.1% in July

Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) was the target of a large drop in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,210,000 shares, a drop of 15.1% from the June 30th total of 3,780,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 825,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.9 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on EFX shares. Citigroup increased their price target on Equifax from $263.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Equifax from $272.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Equifax from $255.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Equifax from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Equifax from $246.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $287.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equifax

In related news, Director Karen L. Fichuk bought 415 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were bought at an average price of $238.77 per share, for a total transaction of $99,089.55. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,305 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $789,134.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Karen L. Fichuk acquired 415 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $238.77 per share, for a total transaction of $99,089.55. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,305 shares in the company, valued at approximately $789,134.85. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP James M. Griggs sold 2,410 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.60, for a total transaction of $575,026.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 5,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,193,238.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,238 shares of company stock valued at $2,647,378. 1.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equifax

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of EFX. Crewe Advisors LLC raised its position in Equifax by 138.2% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 131 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in Equifax by 74.1% in the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 195 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in Equifax by 42.0% in the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 29,001 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $7,032,000 after buying an additional 8,582 shares during the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Equifax in the 2nd quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its stake in Equifax by 180.2% during the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 297 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Stock Performance

Shares of EFX stock traded up $2.19 on Monday, hitting $273.93. The company had a trading volume of 609,962 shares, compared to its average volume of 819,914. Equifax has a twelve month low of $159.95 and a twelve month high of $276.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market cap of $33.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $244.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $248.11.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The credit services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.42 billion. Equifax had a net margin of 10.67% and a return on equity of 18.88%. The business’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.71 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Equifax will post 7.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 19th. Investors of record on Friday, May 24th were paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.74%.

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.