Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $215.1579.

A number of brokerages recently commented on EFX. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Equifax in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Equifax from $195.00 to $179.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 13th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Equifax from $243.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Equifax from $220.00 to $212.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on Equifax from $250.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th.

Equifax Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EFX opened at $168.94 on Friday. Equifax has a 12-month low of $150.74 and a 12-month high of $271.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.31. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $179.14 and a 200 day moving average of $177.08.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The credit services provider reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. Equifax had a net margin of 10.73% and a return on equity of 21.61%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.00 earnings per share. Equifax has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.150-2.250 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 8.390-8.690 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Equifax will post 8.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.56 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Equifax’s payout ratio is currently 39.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equifax

In other news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 37,791 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 271,890 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,808,582.40. This represents a 12.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP John Gamble sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.96, for a total value of $845,820.00. Following the completion of 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in Equifax by 15,465.8% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 30,785,331 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,886,248,000 after buying an additional 30,587,555 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Equifax in the second quarter worth $1,491,357,000. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Equifax by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,056,441 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,097,147,000 after acquiring an additional 66,289 shares during the last quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP boosted its position in shares of Equifax by 310.5% during the first quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 4,184,569 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $753,515,000 after acquiring an additional 3,165,120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. grew its stake in Equifax by 57.2% during the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,809,879 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $609,693,000 after acquiring an additional 1,022,819 shares in the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Equifax

Equifax Inc (NYSE: EFX) is a global data, analytics and technology company that provides information solutions to businesses, government agencies and consumers. Its services help organizations assess credit risk, prevent fraud, verify identities, market products and make informed decisions about lending, employment and other transactions.

The company’s offerings include consumer and commercial credit reports, credit scores, fraud-prevention and identity-management tools, income and employment verification services, mortgage and housing data, and workforce-management solutions.