Sentry Investment Management LLC Lowers Stock Position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Sentry Investment Management LLC reduced its position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 9.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 642 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 69 shares during the quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Equifax were worth $159,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. KB Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Equifax during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC purchased a new stake in Equifax during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Equifax during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in Equifax by 70.8% in the third quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 193 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, Smithfield Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of Equifax by 55.5% during the third quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 199 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on EFX. TheStreet upgraded Equifax from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Friday, December 29th. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of Equifax from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $272.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Equifax from $208.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Equifax from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $305.00 price objective on shares of Equifax in a report on Friday, February 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equifax currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $267.00.

Equifax Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE EFX opened at $237.68 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $259.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $231.05. Equifax Inc. has a 52-week low of $159.95 and a 52-week high of $275.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.02, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.51.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The credit services provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.06. Equifax had a return on equity of 19.40% and a net margin of 10.36%. The business had revenue of $1.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.43 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Equifax Inc. will post 7.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. Equifax’s payout ratio is currently 35.45%.

Equifax Profile

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.