Compound Global Advisors LLC Acquires New Stake in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Compound Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 2,900 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $739,000. Equifax comprises approximately 3.0% of Compound Global Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equifax in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in shares of Equifax in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Spire Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Equifax by 98.7% in the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 151 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equifax in the third quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Equifax in the third quarter valued at approximately $73,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EFX has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Equifax from $304.00 to $283.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Equifax in a research report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Equifax from $335.00 to $310.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on Equifax from $286.00 to $279.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Equifax from $335.00 to $325.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $301.13.

Equifax Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EFX traded down $1.29 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $249.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 943,372 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,061,831. Equifax Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $213.02 and a fifty-two week high of $309.63. The company has a market capitalization of $30.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $260.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $274.21.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.12. Equifax had a return on equity of 19.13% and a net margin of 10.63%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Equifax Inc. will post 7.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. Equifax's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Lisa M. Nelson sold 551 shares of the firm'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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,697 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,045,781.83. This trade represents a 4.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.57% 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.