Ceredex Value Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 82,000 Equifax, Inc. $EFX

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 82,000 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $21,035,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of EFX. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Equifax in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $334,521,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Equifax by 2.1% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,282,951 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,920,535,000 after acquiring an additional 316,048 shares during the period. Spear Holdings RSC Ltd bought a new stake in Equifax in the third quarter valued at $76,754,000. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Equifax by 121.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 540,896 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $138,756,000 after purchasing an additional 296,816 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenhouse Funds LLLP purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax in the 2nd quarter worth about $59,935,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on EFX shares. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Equifax in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price target for the company. UBS Group set a $230.00 price target on Equifax in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Equifax from $269.00 to $244.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Robert W. Baird set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Equifax in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Argus raised Equifax to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $240.33.

Insider Activity at Equifax

In related news, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 58,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,532,018.12. This trade represents a 7.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 37,791 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.89, for a total transaction of $7,629,624.99. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 230,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,536,856.34. This represents a 14.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 49,671 shares of company stock worth $9,960,181 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Price Performance

Shares of EFX opened at $204.68 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $24.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.55. Equifax, Inc. has a twelve month low of $166.02 and a twelve month high of $281.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $205.71 and a 200 day moving average of $220.76.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.53 billion. Equifax had a return on equity of 19.27% and a net margin of 10.87%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.12 EPS. 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, equities research analysts anticipate that Equifax, Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be paid a $0.56 dividend. This is a boost from Equifax’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 9th. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.59%.

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.