Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Short Interest Up 19.2% in March

by · The Markets Daily

Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX – Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,290,000 shares, a growth of 19.2% from the March 15th total of 2,760,000 shares. Currently, 2.7% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,130,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.9 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EFX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America began coverage on Equifax in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $280.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Equifax from $340.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Equifax from $320.00 to $316.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Equifax in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Equifax from $335.00 to $310.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Equifax has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $292.31.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on EFX

Equifax Stock Performance

Shares of EFX traded down $6.19 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $215.06. The company had a trading volume of 1,475,544 shares, compared to its average volume of 964,453. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $236.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $254.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.53, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.65. Equifax has a 52-week low of $199.98 and a 52-week high of $309.63.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.12. Equifax had a net margin of 10.63% and a return on equity of 19.13%. On average, analysts expect that Equifax will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.73%. Equifax’s payout ratio is 32.30%.

Institutional Trading of Equifax

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Equifax by 39.0% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 10,843 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,775,000 after buying an additional 3,043 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Equifax by 2.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 184,890 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $54,329,000 after purchasing an additional 5,097 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Equifax by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,585 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $404,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equifax during the 4th quarter worth about $3,572,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Equifax by 95.9% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,617,574 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $412,239,000 after buying an additional 791,730 shares during the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equifax Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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