Atala Financial Inc Acquires Shares of 193 Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 193 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $49,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of EFX. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Equifax during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Spire Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Equifax by 98.7% during the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 151 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Equifax by 78.9% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 254 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on EFX. Argus cut Equifax from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Gordon Haskett upgraded Equifax to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Equifax in a report on Friday, February 7th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on Equifax from $286.00 to $279.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on Equifax from $335.00 to $310.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $298.47.

Equifax Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of Equifax stock opened at $235.96 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $29.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.65. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $253.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $268.00. Equifax Inc. has a 1-year low of $213.02 and a 1-year high of $309.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.12. Equifax had a return on equity of 19.13% and a net margin of 10.63%. Analysts predict that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.30%.

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.