Versor Investments LP Takes Position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Versor Investments LP purchased a new position in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 898 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $264,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EFX. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Equifax in the third quarter worth $29,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equifax in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 76.1% during the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equifax during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Equifax by 138.2% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 131 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EFX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Equifax from $250.00 to $271.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 target price on shares of Equifax in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Oppenheimer boosted 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. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Equifax in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $360.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Equifax from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $310.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $310.47.

Equifax Stock Down 5.3 %

Shares of NYSE EFX opened at $248.27 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $282.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $267.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. Equifax Inc. has a 52-week low of $197.13 and a 52-week high of $309.63. The company has a market capitalization of $30.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.59.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The credit services provider reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.01. Equifax had a net margin of 10.07% and a return on equity of 18.56%. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.76 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Equifax Inc. will post 7.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. Equifax’s payout ratio is 34.67%.

Insider Transactions at Equifax

In other news, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.92, for a total value of $272,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,269 shares in the company, valued at $3,075,535.48. This trade represents a 8.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.49, for a total value of $15,770,648.96. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 109,183 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,532,909.67. This trade represents a 34.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.