Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Posts Quarterly 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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.01, Briefing.com reports. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.44 billion. Equifax had a net margin of 10.67% and a return on equity of 18.88%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.76 earnings per share.

Equifax Trading Up 1.1 %

EFX stock traded up $2.96 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $283.26. The stock had a trading volume of 280,388 shares, compared to its average volume of 843,759. The firm has a market cap of $35.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.76, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.58. Equifax has a twelve month low of $159.95 and a twelve month high of $309.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $294.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $262.80.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. 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 Equifax 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. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EFX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 price objective on shares of Equifax in a research note on Friday. Barclays upped their price target on Equifax from $300.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Equifax from $375.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Equifax from $263.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Equifax from $300.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $308.21.

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.