Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Releases Q2 2024 Earnings Guidance

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) updated its second quarter 2024 earnings guidance on Wednesday. The company provided EPS guidance of 1.650-1.750 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of 1.870. The company issued revenue guidance of $1.4 billion-$1.4 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $1.4 billion. Equifax also updated its FY 2024 guidance to 7.200-7.500 EPS.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on EFX. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Equifax from $275.00 to $260.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI raised shares of Equifax from an in-line rating to an outperform rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $210.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Equifax from $290.00 to $273.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Friday. TheStreet raised Equifax from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a research report on Friday, December 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Equifax from $273.00 to $291.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $269.00.

Equifax Stock Down 8.5 %

Shares of EFX opened at $217.51 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $258.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $230.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.44, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.51. Equifax has a 52 week low of $159.95 and a 52 week high of $275.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The credit services provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.06. Equifax had a return on equity of 19.33% and a net margin of 10.42%. The business had revenue of $1.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.43 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Equifax will post 7.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. Equifax’s payout ratio is 34.74%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equifax

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Equifax by 29.5% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 3,516 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $834,000 after purchasing an additional 801 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Equifax by 9.9% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,944 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,172,000 after buying an additional 444 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its position in shares of Equifax by 14.1% in the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,830 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $434,000 after buying an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Equifax by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 439,028 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $104,100,000 after buying an additional 8,662 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in Equifax by 0.8% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 17,409 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,141,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.