Spear Holdings RSC Ltd Makes New Investment in Equifax, Inc. $EFX

Spear Holdings RSC Ltd bought a new stake in Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX) during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 299,200 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $76,754,000. Equifax accounts for approximately 4.3% of Spear Holdings RSC Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Equifax by 49.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,638 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $927,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax during the first quarter worth $204,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Equifax by 14.6% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,523 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $615,000 after buying an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Equifax in the 2nd quarter valued at about $208,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Equifax by 61.8% during the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 343 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $89,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Equifax news, EVP Jamil Farshchi sold 4,925 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.94, for a total value of $1,176,779.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 39,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,405,634.16. This represents a 11.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 21,386 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.12, for a total transaction of $4,942,732.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 22,045 shares in the company, valued at $5,095,040.40. This represents a 49.24% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 54,270 shares of company stock worth $12,580,837. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Equifax Stock Performance

EFX stock opened at $213.81 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $215.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $232.42. The company has a market capitalization of $26.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.57, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. Equifax, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $199.98 and a fifty-two week high of $281.07.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The credit services provider reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.10. Equifax had a net margin of 11.08% and a return on equity of 19.28%. The company had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.85 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Equifax, Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 24th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 24th. Equifax’s payout ratio is presently 37.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on EFX. Oppenheimer cut their target price on shares of Equifax from $271.00 to $266.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Equifax in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Equifax from $285.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Equifax from $245.00 to $234.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Equifax from $295.00 to $253.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $271.14.

About Equifax

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.