Hsbc Holdings PLC Buys New Stake in Equifax, Inc. $EFX

Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new stake in Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 312,946 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $49,477,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of EFX. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Equifax by 16.9% in the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 401 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $104,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Athena Investment Management lifted its stake in Equifax by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Athena Investment Management now owns 2,608 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $566,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC lifted its stake in Equifax by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 1,980 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $430,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in Equifax by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,043 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $443,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its position in Equifax by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 1,730 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $312,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equifax Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE EFX opened at $190.50 on Thursday. Equifax, Inc. has a 52 week low of $150.74 and a 52 week high of $271.84. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $173.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $178.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.38 billion, a PE ratio of 33.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.30.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The credit services provider reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. Equifax had a net margin of 10.73% and a return on equity of 21.61%. The company’s revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.00 EPS. Equifax has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.150-2.250 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 8.390-8.690 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Equifax, Inc. will post 8.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.56 per share. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. Equifax’s payout ratio is 39.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on EFX shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $182.00 price target on shares of Equifax in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Equifax from $250.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Equifax from $215.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Equifax from $245.00 to $232.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded Equifax from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $214.00 to $235.00 in a report on Friday, August 21st. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Equifax has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $216.89.

Insider Transactions at Equifax

In other news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 37,791 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.16, for a total transaction of $6,506,098.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 271,890 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,808,582.40. This represents a 12.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Equifax 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.