Short Interest in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Expands By 7.2%

Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,220,000 shares, a growth of 7.2% from the November 30th total of 2,070,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,010,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.2 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equifax

In related news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.49, for a total transaction of $15,770,648.96. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 109,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,532,909.67. This trade represents a 34.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.92, for a total value of $272,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,269 shares in the company, valued at $3,075,535.48. This trade represents a 8.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 59,855 shares of company stock valued at $16,187,044. Company insiders own 1.66% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Equifax

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Equifax by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 3,726 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $903,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Equifax by 13.5% during the third quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 371 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $109,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust boosted its holdings in Equifax by 3.0% during the third quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 1,665 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $489,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its position in Equifax by 3.7% during the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 1,474 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $401,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Equifax by 76.1% in the second quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on EFX shares. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of Equifax from $315.00 to $286.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Equifax in a report on Friday, October 18th. Wolfe Research lowered Equifax from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Equifax from $305.00 to $284.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded Equifax from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Equifax presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $311.18.

Equifax Stock Performance

EFX opened at $254.85 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $261.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $272.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.59 billion, a PE ratio of 56.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Equifax has a 12-month low of $213.02 and a 12-month high of $309.63.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The credit services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.01. Equifax had a net margin of 10.07% and a return on equity of 18.56%. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.76 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Equifax will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.61%. Equifax’s payout ratio is 34.67%.

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.