Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Updates Q2 Earnings Guidance

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) updated its second quarter earnings guidance on Wednesday. The company provided earnings per share guidance of $1.65-1.75 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of $1.87. The company issued revenue guidance of $1.41-1.43 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $1.44 billion. Equifax also updated its FY 2024 guidance to 7.200-7.500 EPS.

Equifax Price Performance

Equifax stock opened at $216.20 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $257.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $231.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market cap of $26.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.51. Equifax has a 52 week low of $159.95 and a 52 week high of $275.10.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The credit services provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.06. Equifax had a return on equity of 19.08% and a net margin of 10.42%. The business had revenue of $1.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.43 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Equifax will post 7.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EFX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Equifax from $300.00 to $255.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Equifax from $290.00 to $273.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Equifax from $208.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Equifax from $275.00 to $260.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Equifax from an in-line rating to an outperform rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $210.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Equifax has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $266.35.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equifax

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of EFX. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,799,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 51,056 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $12,626,000 after buying an additional 1,395 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its position in shares of Equifax by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 4,558 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,127,000 after acquiring an additional 460 shares in the last quarter. AKO Capital LLP raised its holdings in shares of Equifax by 30.8% during the fourth quarter. AKO Capital LLP now owns 666,628 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $164,850,000 after acquiring an additional 156,892 shares during the period. Finally, Venture Visionary Partners LLC bought a new stake in Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at $221,000. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.