Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.01 EPS

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) posted its earnings results on Wednesday. The credit services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.01, Briefing.com reports. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.44 billion. Equifax had a net margin of 10.67% and a return on equity of 18.88%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.76 EPS.

Equifax Stock Performance

Shares of Equifax stock opened at $289.95 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $294.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $262.68. The company has a market cap of $35.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.58, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. Equifax has a one year low of $159.95 and a one year high of $309.63.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were given a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.74%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Equifax from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Equifax from $273.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Equifax from $300.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Equifax from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on shares of Equifax from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $307.74.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equifax

In other news, EVP Carla Chaney sold 3,000 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.85, for a total transaction of $845,550.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,875 shares in the company, valued at $3,065,118.75. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.