Short Interest in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Drops By 8.8%

Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,070,000 shares, a drop of 8.8% from the November 15th total of 2,270,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,020,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.0 days.

Equifax Stock Performance

Equifax stock traded up $0.15 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $273.65. 1,878,381 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 879,669. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $267.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $270.89. Equifax has a 12-month low of $213.02 and a 12-month high of $309.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. The stock has a market cap of $33.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 1.57.

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

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. Equifax’s payout ratio is 34.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on EFX. UBS Group assumed coverage on Equifax in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $360.00 target price for the company. BNP Paribas raised shares of Equifax from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday. Wolfe Research cut shares of Equifax from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Equifax from $304.00 to $283.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Equifax from $305.00 to $284.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $311.39.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Equifax news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.49, for a total transaction of $15,770,648.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 109,183 shares in the company, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.92, for a total transaction of $272,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,269 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,075,535.48. This represents a 8.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 59,855 shares of company stock worth $16,187,044. Insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Equifax by 34.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 863,718 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $251,480,000 after purchasing an additional 220,109 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Equifax by 23.0% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 6,184 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,817,000 after purchasing an additional 1,155 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Equifax by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 5,872 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,726,000 after purchasing an additional 855 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Equifax by 27.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 16,909 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,969,000 after buying an additional 3,629 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Equifax during the third quarter worth $95,000. 96.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.