K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc Buys Shares of 1,860 Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc bought a new stake in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 1,860 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $460,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. KB Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in Equifax during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Equifax during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Smithfield Trust Co boosted its stake in Equifax by 55.5% during the 3rd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 199 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Equifax during the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC acquired a new position in Equifax during the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equifax Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EFX traded down $2.86 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $223.42. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 880,115 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,073,531. Equifax Inc. has a one year low of $159.95 and a one year high of $275.10. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $254.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $232.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company has a market cap of $27.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.51.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The credit services provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.40 billion. Equifax had a net margin of 10.42% and a return on equity of 19.08%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.43 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Equifax Inc. will post 7.36 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were given a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.74%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EFX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of Equifax from $291.00 to $272.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Truist Financial upped 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. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Equifax from $300.00 to $255.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Equifax from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $210.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Equifax from $276.00 to $241.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $270.19.

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.