Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Releases Q4 Earnings Guidance

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) updated its fourth quarter earnings guidance on Wednesday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $2.08-2.18 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.20. The company issued revenue guidance of $1.438-1.458 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $1.47 billion. Equifax also updated its FY 2024 guidance to 7.250-7.350 EPS.

Equifax Price Performance

Shares of EFX opened at $282.05 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $294.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $262.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. Equifax has a twelve month low of $159.95 and a twelve month high of $309.63. The company has a market cap of $34.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.58.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The credit services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.01. Equifax had a return on equity of 18.88% and a net margin of 10.67%. 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 firm earned $1.76 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Equifax will post 7.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Equifax’s payout ratio is 34.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Equifax from $263.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Equifax from $250.00 to $271.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Equifax from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays boosted their price target on Equifax from $300.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on Equifax in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $360.00 price objective for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equifax presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $310.47.

Insider Activity

In other Equifax news, EVP Carla Chaney sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.85, for a total value of $845,550.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,065,118.75. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

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.