Equifax (NYSE:EFX) Issues FY 2024 Earnings Guidance

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) issued an update on its FY 2024 earnings guidance on Wednesday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 7.200-7.500 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 7.640. The company issued revenue guidance of $5.7 billion-$5.8 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $5.8 billion. Equifax also updated its FY24 guidance to $7.20-7.50 EPS.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on EFX. Evercore ISI raised shares of Equifax from an in-line rating to an outperform rating and upped their price target for the company from $210.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Equifax from an underperform rating to a buy rating and increased their price target for the stock from $164.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Equifax from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. TheStreet upgraded Equifax from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a research note on Friday, December 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Equifax from $208.00 to $289.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $269.00.

Equifax Stock Down 8.5 %

Shares of EFX stock opened at $217.51 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $27.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.44, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.51. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $258.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $230.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. Equifax has a 52 week low of $159.95 and a 52 week high of $275.10.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The credit services provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.40 billion. Equifax had a return on equity of 19.33% and a net margin of 10.42%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.43 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Equifax will post 7.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.74%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equifax

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Equifax in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 91.4% in the 1st quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 310 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 59.0% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 337 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new position in shares of Equifax during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $94,000. Institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

About Equifax

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.