Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Takes Position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 7,500 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,855,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. KB Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in Equifax in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC acquired a new position in Equifax in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Equifax in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in Equifax by 70.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 193 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, Smithfield Trust Co increased its holdings in Equifax by 55.5% in the 3rd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 199 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Trading Down 8.5 %

Shares of NYSE:EFX opened at $217.51 on Friday. Equifax Inc. has a 1 year low of $159.95 and a 1 year high of $275.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $258.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $230.95.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $1.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.40 billion. Equifax had a return on equity of 19.40% and a net margin of 10.36%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.43 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Equifax Inc. will post 7.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. Equifax’s payout ratio is currently 35.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on EFX. TheStreet upgraded shares of Equifax from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Friday, December 29th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of Equifax from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $272.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Equifax from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $305.00 price objective on shares of Equifax in a research report on Thursday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Equifax from $195.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $267.00.

Equifax Company 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.