Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Short Interest Up 7.2% in December

Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,220,000 shares, an increase of 7.2% from the November 30th total of 2,070,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,010,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.2 days.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Lisa M. Nelson sold 551 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.39, for a total transaction of $143,474.89. Following 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.49, for a total transaction of $15,770,648.96. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 109,183 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,532,909.67. The trade was a 34.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 59,855 shares of company stock worth $16,187,044 over the last 90 days. 1.66% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Equifax in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Equifax in the second quarter worth about $30,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Equifax by 76.1% during the second 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 last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Equifax during the second quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equifax in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $48,000. 96.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on EFX shares. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Equifax in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $360.00 target price for the company. Barclays upped their price objective on Equifax from $300.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Morgan Stanley raised Equifax from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $275.00 to $320.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Equifax from $304.00 to $283.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $350.00 price objective on shares of Equifax in a report on Monday, October 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $311.18.

Equifax Price Performance

EFX traded down $3.72 on Thursday, hitting $251.13. 666,942 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 878,875. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $261.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $272.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Equifax has a one year low of $213.02 and a one year high of $309.63. The firm has a market cap of $31.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.81, a P/E/G ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 1.57.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The credit services provider reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.44 billion. Equifax had a net margin of 10.07% and a return on equity of 18.56%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.76 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Equifax will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd were given a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.62%. Equifax's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.67%.

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.