Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Upgraded at Argus

Argus upgraded shares of Equifax (NYSE:EFX) to a hold rating in a report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

EFX has been the topic of a number of other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Equifax from $235.00 to $208.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 6th. UBS Group set a $230.00 price target on Equifax in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Equifax from $269.00 to $244.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Equifax in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Equifax in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equifax has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $240.33.

Equifax Price Performance

EFX stock opened at $206.60 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.83, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.55. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $206.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $221.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. Equifax has a 12-month low of $166.02 and a 12-month high of $281.03.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.04. Equifax had a net margin of 10.87% and a return on equity of 19.27%. The company had revenue of $1.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.12 earnings per share. Equifax’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equifax has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.300-8.700 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.630-1.730 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Equifax will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.56 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 9th. This is an increase from Equifax’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Equifax’s payout ratio is presently 37.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equifax

In related news, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.72, for a total value of $880,740.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 58,921 shares in the company, valued at $11,532,018.12. This represents a 7.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 37,791 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.89, for a total value of $7,629,624.99. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 230,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,536,856.34. This trade represents a 14.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 49,671 shares of company stock valued at $9,960,181. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equifax

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of EFX. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Equifax in the 2nd quarter worth about $334,521,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Equifax by 35.8% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,344,531 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $942,676,000 after buying an additional 1,145,921 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Equifax by 57.2% in the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,809,879 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $609,693,000 after buying an additional 1,022,819 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Equifax by 105.5% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,603,415 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $347,909,000 after buying an additional 823,116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Equifax by 91.0% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,464,135 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $317,688,000 after acquiring an additional 697,403 shares in the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Equifax

Equifax Inc (NYSE: EFX) is a global data, analytics and technology company that specializes in consumer and commercial credit reporting, decisioning tools and identity solutions. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Equifax is one of the three major consumer credit reporting agencies in the United States and provides credit information and related services to lenders, employers, governments and consumers worldwide.

The company’s offerings include consumer credit reports and scores, credit monitoring and identity protection services, and a range of business-oriented products for risk management, fraud detection and compliance.