Equifax (EFX) Competitors

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

Does the MarketBeat Community favor VRSK or EFX?

Equifax received 71 more outperform votes than Verisk Analytics when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 64.86% of users gave Verisk Analytics an outperform vote while only 63.38% of users gave Equifax an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Verisk Analytics	Outperform Votes 552 64.86%	Underperform Votes 299 35.14%
Equifax	Outperform Votes 623 63.38%	Underperform Votes 360 36.62%

Which has stronger valuation and earnings, VRSK or EFX?

Verisk Analytics has higher earnings, but lower revenue 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
Verisk Analytics	$2.68B	14.97	$614.60M	$6.41	44.34
Equifax	$5.27B	5.82	$545.30M	$4.50	54.93

Do insiders & institutionals believe in VRSK or EFX?

90.0% of Verisk Analytics shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 96.2% of Equifax shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.4% of Verisk Analytics shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.7% of Equifax shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Is VRSK or EFX more profitable?

Verisk Analytics has a net margin of 32.65% compared to Equifax's net margin of 10.07%. Verisk Analytics' return on equity of 274.13% beat Equifax's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Verisk Analytics	32.65%	274.13%	20.34%
Equifax	10.07%	18.56%	7.10%

Which has more volatility & risk, VRSK or EFX?

Verisk Analytics has a beta of 0.86, suggesting that its share price is 14% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Equifax has a beta of 1.59, suggesting that its share price is 59% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the media favor VRSK or EFX?

In the previous week, Verisk Analytics had 6 more articles in the media than Equifax. MarketBeat recorded 28 mentions for Verisk Analytics and 22 mentions for Equifax. Verisk Analytics' average media sentiment score of 0.96 beat Equifax's score of 0.72 indicating that Verisk Analytics is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Verisk Analytics	20 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Equifax	9 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	5 Neutral mention(s)	5 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts recommend VRSK or EFX?

Verisk Analytics currently has a consensus price target of $285.80, indicating a potential upside of 0.56%. Equifax has a consensus price target of $306.74, indicating a potential upside of 24.09%. Given Equifax's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Equifax is more favorable than Verisk Analytics.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Verisk Analytics	0 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50
Equifax	0 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	15 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.79

Is VRSK or EFX a better dividend stock?

Verisk Analytics pays an annual dividend of $1.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. Equifax pays an annual dividend of $1.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.6%. Verisk Analytics pays out 24.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Equifax pays out 34.7% 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.

Summary

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