William Blair Has Negative Outlook for Equifax Q4 Earnings

Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) – Equities researchers at William Blair lowered their Q4 2024 EPS estimates for Equifax in a report issued on Tuesday, January 21st. William Blair analyst A. Nicholas now forecasts that the credit services provider will earn $2.08 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $2.12. The consensus estimate for Equifax’s current full-year earnings is $7.27 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Equifax’s FY2026 earnings at $10.08 EPS.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Equifax from $315.00 to $286.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Equifax from $305.00 to $284.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Equifax from $325.00 to $321.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Equifax from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $311.12.

Equifax Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EFX opened at $272.08 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $258.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $273.87. The company has a market cap of $33.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.57. Equifax has a 12-month low of $213.02 and a 12-month high of $309.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Lisa M. Nelson sold 551 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.39, for a total transaction of $143,474.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,697 shares in the company, valued at $3,045,781.83. The trade was a 4.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.92, for a total transaction of $272,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,269 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,075,535.48. The trade was a 8.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 59,855 shares of company stock valued at $16,187,044 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.66% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Equifax

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equifax during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new position in Equifax during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Equifax in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Intact Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Equifax in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $73,000. Finally, Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $85,000. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.