Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $289.96, but opened at $278.00. Equifax shares last traded at $275.65, with a volume of 90,842 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Equifax from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. BNP Paribas upgraded Equifax from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $310.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Citigroup upped their price target on Equifax from $263.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Equifax from $273.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Equifax from $277.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equifax has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $307.74.

Equifax Trading Down 2.7 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The company has a market capitalization of $34.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.58. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $294.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $262.68.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The credit services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.01. Equifax had a return on equity of 18.88% and a net margin of 10.67%. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.76 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Equifax Inc. will post 7.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equifax

In other news, EVP Carla Chaney sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.85, for a total transaction of $845,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,875 shares in the company, valued at $3,065,118.75. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equifax

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of EFX. Integrated Advisors Network LLC purchased a new stake in Equifax during the fourth quarter valued at about $305,000. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equifax in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $424,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $917,000. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Equifax by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,414 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $378,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Equifax by 28.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 978 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $262,000 after buying an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.