Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.50

Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, April 23rd, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a dividend of 0.50 per share by the credit services provider on Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. This is a 28.2% increase from Equifax’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39.

Equifax has a dividend payout ratio of 16.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Equifax to earn $9.92 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.56 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 15.7%.

Equifax Stock Up 3.3 %

NYSE EFX opened at $257.63 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $236.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $254.14. The company has a market capitalization of $32.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. Equifax has a 52 week low of $199.98 and a 52 week high of $309.63.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The credit services provider reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.41 billion. Equifax had a net margin of 10.63% and a return on equity of 19.13%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Equifax will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Equifax from $335.00 to $310.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Equifax from $340.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Equifax in a research report on Wednesday. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Equifax to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Equifax from $313.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $292.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equifax

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Equifax stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 49.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,638 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Equifax were worth $927,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

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.