Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $289.96, but opened at $278.00. Equifax shares last traded at $275.65, with a volume of 90,842 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Equifax from $277.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Equifax from $300.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 price objective on shares of Equifax in a report on Friday. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Equifax in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $360.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Equifax from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $310.47.

Equifax Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $294.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $262.95. The stock 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 announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.44 billion. Equifax had a net margin of 10.67% and a return on equity of 18.88%. Equifax’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.76 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Equifax Inc. will post 7.36 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Equifax news, EVP Carla Chaney sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.85, for a total value of $845,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,065,118.75. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equifax

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of EFX. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in Equifax in the first quarter worth about $30,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equifax by 76.1% in the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Equifax during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Equifax in the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC grew its position in Equifax by 138.2% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 131 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

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.