Cinctive Capital Management LP Acquires New Position in Equifax, Inc. $EFX

Cinctive Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 11,059 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,837,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EFX. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its position in Equifax by 6.0% during the third quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 392,560 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $100,703,000 after purchasing an additional 22,302 shares during the last quarter. Explore Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Equifax by 34.6% in the third quarter. Explore Capital Management LLC now owns 40,930 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $10,500,000 after purchasing an additional 10,530 shares in the last quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC increased its position in Equifax by 164.6% in the 3rd quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 8,034 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,061,000 after purchasing an additional 4,998 shares during the last quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. raised its stake in shares of Equifax by 18.4% during the 3rd quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 178,203 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $45,714,000 after purchasing an additional 27,740 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stevens Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax during the 2nd quarter worth about $932,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Jamil Farshchi sold 6,213 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.81, for a total transaction of $1,216,567.53. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 41,036 shares in the company, valued at $8,035,259.16. The trade was a 13.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.72, for a total value of $880,740.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 58,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,532,018.12. This represents a 7.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 49,671 shares of company stock valued at $9,960,181 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Stock Performance

Shares of EFX opened at $184.27 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $22.16 billion, a PE ratio of 34.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.60. Equifax, Inc. has a one year low of $166.02 and a one year high of $281.03. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $203.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $219.03.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.53 billion. Equifax had a net margin of 10.87% and a return on equity of 19.27%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.12 earnings per share. Equifax has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.300-8.700 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.630-1.730 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Equifax, Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be issued a $0.56 dividend. This is an increase from Equifax’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 9th. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Equifax’s payout ratio is 42.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Equifax from $235.00 to $208.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on shares of Equifax from $295.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Robert W. Baird set a $250.00 target price on shares of Equifax in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Equifax from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Equifax in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price target on the stock. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $238.57.

Equifax Company Profile

Equifax Inc (NYSE: EFX) is a global data, analytics and technology company that specializes in consumer and commercial credit reporting, decisioning tools and identity solutions. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Equifax is one of the three major consumer credit reporting agencies in the United States and provides credit information and related services to lenders, employers, governments and consumers worldwide.

The company’s offerings include consumer credit reports and scores, credit monitoring and identity protection services, and a range of business-oriented products for risk management, fraud detection and compliance.