Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Now Covered by Analysts at Mizuho

Mizuho began coverage on shares of Equifax (NYSE:EFX) in a research report report published on Thursday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm issued an outperform rating and a $222.00 price target on the credit services provider’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Bank of America started coverage on Equifax in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Equifax in a report on Monday, December 29th. Argus upgraded shares of Equifax to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Equifax from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on shares of Equifax from $295.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.80.

Equifax Stock Performance

EFX stock traded up $4.68 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $195.06. The company had a trading volume of 165,517 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,778,400. Equifax has a 12 month low of $166.02 and a 12 month high of $281.03. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $189.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $207.65. The firm has a market cap of $23.53 billion, a PE ratio of 36.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.60.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.04. Equifax had a net margin of 10.87% and a return on equity of 19.27%. The company had revenue of $1.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.12 EPS. Equifax’s revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equifax has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.300-8.700 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.630-1.730 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Equifax will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 9th were paid a dividend of $0.56 per share. This is an increase from Equifax’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 9th. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.11%.

Insider Transactions at Equifax

In related news, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.72, for a total value of $880,740.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 58,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,532,018.12. This trade represents a 7.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 37,791 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.89, for a total transaction of $7,629,624.99. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 230,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,536,856.34. This trade represents a 14.09% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 49,671 shares of company stock valued at $9,960,181. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Equifax

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 612.5% during the fourth quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 114 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Reflection Asset Management bought a new position in Equifax during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Equifax in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Lodestone Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equifax in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Company Profile

Equifax Inc (NYSE: EFX) is a global data, analytics and technology company that specializes in consumer and commercial credit reporting, decisioning tools and identity solutions. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Equifax is one of the three major consumer credit reporting agencies in the United States and provides credit information and related services to lenders, employers, governments and consumers worldwide.

The company’s offerings include consumer credit reports and scores, credit monitoring and identity protection services, and a range of business-oriented products for risk management, fraud detection and compliance.