Equifax (EFX) Competitors

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

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in EFX or VRSK?

Equifax received 74 more outperform votes than Verisk Analytics when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 64.75% of users gave Verisk Analytics an outperform vote while only 63.46% of users gave Equifax an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Equifax	Outperform Votes 627 63.46%	Underperform Votes 361 36.54%
Verisk Analytics	Outperform Votes 553 64.75%	Underperform Votes 301 35.25%

Do institutionals & insiders have more ownership 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. 1.7% 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, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Does the media favor EFX or VRSK?

In the previous week, Equifax had 17 more articles in the media than Verisk Analytics. MarketBeat recorded 21 mentions for Equifax and 4 mentions for Verisk Analytics. Verisk Analytics' average media sentiment score of 1.40 beat Equifax's score of 0.24 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	6 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	7 Neutral mention(s)	5 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Verisk Analytics	4 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts prefer EFX or VRSK?

Equifax currently has a consensus price target of $311.12, indicating a potential upside of 18.35%. Verisk Analytics has a consensus price target of $293.11, indicating a potential upside of 5.23%. 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
Equifax	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	15 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.88
Verisk Analytics	0 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.44

Which has preferable valuation and earnings, 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	$5.27B	6.19	$545.30M	$4.50	58.42
Verisk Analytics	$2.68B	14.67	$614.60M	$6.41	43.46

Is EFX or VRSK a better dividend stock?

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

Which has more risk & volatility, EFX or VRSK?

Equifax has a beta of 1.57, meaning that its share price is 57% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Verisk Analytics has a beta of 0.88, meaning that its share price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is EFX or VRSK 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
Equifax	10.07%	18.56%	7.10%
Verisk Analytics	32.65%	274.13%	20.34%

Summary

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