Equifax (EFX) Competitors

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) and Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) are both large-cap business services companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, community ranking, valuation, profitability, risk, earnings, institutional ownership and media sentiment.

Which has more risk and volatility, EFX or VRSK?

Equifax has a beta of 1.65, suggesting that its share price is 65% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Verisk Analytics has a beta of 0.88, suggesting that its share price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts rate EFX or VRSK?

Equifax presently has a consensus price target of $292.31, indicating a potential upside of 30.30%. Verisk Analytics has a consensus price target of $297.40, indicating a potential upside of 0.78%. Given Equifax's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Equifax is more favorable than Verisk Analytics.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Equifax	0 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	13 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.79
Verisk Analytics	1 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.20

Do institutionals & insiders believe in EFX or VRSK?

96.2% of Equifax shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 90.0% of Verisk Analytics shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.6% of Equifax shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.4% of Verisk Analytics shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Does the media refer more to EFX or VRSK?

In the previous week, Verisk Analytics had 13 more articles in the media than Equifax. MarketBeat recorded 39 mentions for Verisk Analytics and 26 mentions for Equifax. Verisk Analytics' average media sentiment score of 1.35 beat Equifax's score of 1.20 indicating that Verisk Analytics is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Equifax	16 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	6 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Verisk Analytics	28 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	6 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is EFX or VRSK more profitable?

Verisk Analytics has a net margin of 32.65% compared to Equifax's net margin of 10.63%. Verisk Analytics' return on equity of 274.13% beat Equifax's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Equifax	10.63%	19.13%	7.51%
Verisk Analytics	32.65%	274.13%	20.34%

Is EFX or VRSK a better dividend stock?

Equifax pays an annual dividend of $1.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. Verisk Analytics pays an annual dividend of $1.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.6%. Equifax pays out 32.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Verisk Analytics pays out 26.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years.

Does the MarketBeat Community favor EFX or VRSK?

Equifax received 83 more outperform votes than Verisk Analytics when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 64.73% of users gave Verisk Analytics an outperform vote while only 63.71% of users gave Equifax an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Equifax	Outperform Votes 639 63.71%	Underperform Votes 364 36.29%
Verisk Analytics	Outperform Votes 556 64.73%	Underperform Votes 303 35.27%

Which has stronger earnings and valuation, EFX or VRSK?

Verisk Analytics has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Equifax. Verisk Analytics is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Equifax, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Equifax	$5.68B	4.93	$604.10M	$4.83	46.45
Verisk Analytics	$2.88B	14.33	$614.60M	$6.70	44.04

Summary

Equifax beats Verisk Analytics on 11 of the 21 factors compared between the two stocks.