How to Buy Equifax Stock
Equifax Inc
Equifax is a consulting service company located in Georgia, United States, which is part of the Industrials sector, and is traded under the ticker EFX on the NYSE exchange.
Equifax stock last closed at $223.42, down 1.26% from the previous day, and has increased 12.47% in one year. It has underperformed other stocks in the Consulting Services industry by 0.05 percentage points. Equifax stock is currently +39.68% from its 52-week low of $159.95, and -18.79% from its 52-week high of $275.10.
As of Apr 26, 2024, there are 123.61M EFX shares outstanding. The market capitalization of EFX is $27.62B. In the last 24 hours, 850,314 EFX shares were traded.
How to Buy Equifax Stock
Not sure how to invest in Equifax stock? Here's how.
- Figure out where to buy Equifax stock: You need to decide on an online brokerage, but don't worry - we've tried dozens of online brokerages and apps to help you decide where to buy Equifax stock.
- Sign up for a brokerage account: Sign up for 0% fee trading with the highest-rated brokerage we've found.
- Fund your brokerage account: Choose your method of payment and add your info.
- Analyze Equifax stock: The Equifax ticker symbol is EFX. Is Equifax stock a good investment? Should you buy shares of EFX? How do EFX's underlying business fundamentals look? Do top analysts think Equifax is a good buy? Why has EFX's stock price moved recently? (Hint: Our stock analysis website can help you figure out if EFX is a good stock to buy).
- Execute your EFX purchase: Decide if you will purchase EFX shares at the current market price or use a limit order to buy EFX shares at a specific price.
- Get updates on your EFX position: Create a watchlist to the latest updates on your position in Equifax stock.
Step 1: Figure out where to buy Equifax stock
You will need an online brokerage account to access the NYSE market and buy EFX stock.
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Open eToro AccountStep 2: Sign up for a brokerage account
Now that you've chosen the right brokerage, it's time to fill out some personal information so you are able to invest in EFX stock today.
How to Open a New Account on eToro
- Click here to get started.eToro is a multi-asset investment platform. The value of your investments may go up or down. Your capital is at risk.
- Enter your personal info to create your new brokerage account.
- Send your information by clicking the "Create Account" button. Get started with eToro today
Step 3: Fund your brokerage account
Now that you've opened your account on the best stock market app, your next step is to transfer the money for your investment:
Watch the walkthrough below to see the process of transferring funds into your new investment account.
Step 4: Analyze Equifax stock
After you have identified the best place to buy Equifax stock, it's very important to research their stock prior to buying, so you can comprehend the risk as well as the upside.
Equifax shares data
EFX Due Diligence Checks
WallStreetZen was created to help part-time investors perform better fundamental analysis quickly.
You can view all of the due diligence checks on EFX's stock page.
What is the fair value of EFX stock?
You can use many financial metrics, analyses, models, and charts to gauge EFX's true value.
Using relative valuations metrics:
- EFX could be overvalued based on its P/E ratio of 49.32x, relative to Consulting Services industry P/E ratio of 30.43x
- EFX may be undervalued based on its P/B ratio of 6.05x, relative to Consulting Services industry P/B ratio of 7.4x
- EFX may be overvalued based on its PEG ratio of 1.14x
You can access additional valuation analysis on EFX's stock here.
EFX Financial Summary
Pros:
- EFX's operating cash flow of $1.22B allows it to safely service it's debt of $5.63B.
- Total EFX debt is lower than 5 years ago, relative to shareholder equity.
Cons:
- There are more long-term liabilities than short-term assets on the EFX balance sheet.
- EFX earnings of $969.30M is not sufficient to cover its interest payments.
- EFX has a relatively high debt to equity ratio of 1.65.
- EFX profit margin has gone down from 11.6% to 10.4% in the past year.
- There are more short-term liabilities than short-term assets on the EFX balance sheet.
Is Equifax stock a Buy, Hold, or Sell, according to analysts?
Out of 15 Wall Street analysts who give forecasts on EFX, the consensus analyst rating on EFX is a Strong Buy
It's important to note that analyst ratings are not stock recommendations, nor are they investment advice.
Latest EFX Analyst Upgrades/Downgrades
Kyle Peterson, a top 16% analyst from Needham reiterates EFX with a buy rating and maintains their EFX price target from $305.00 to $305.00, on Apr 18, 2024.
David Togut, a bottom 5% analyst from Evercore ISI Group upgrades EFX to a buy rating and raises their EFX price target from $210.00 to $310.00, on Feb 13, 2024.
Andrew Jeffrey, a top 4% analyst from Truist Securities maintains EFX with a strong buy rating and raises their EFX price target from $270.00 to $285.00, on Feb 9, 2024.
Truist Securities's Andrew Jeffrey raised their price target on Equifax (NYSE: EFX) by 5.6% from $270 to $285 on 2024/02/10. The analyst maintained their Strong Buy rating on the stock.
Jeffrey hiked their price target after seeing Equifax's Q4 and FY 2023 earnings report, released on 2024/02/06.
Management's guidance looks "conservative," the analyst said, acknowledging, however, that they "appreciate that the company doesn't want to chase third-party mortgage volume forecasts."
Earnings Report
Equifax reported:
For Q4 2023:
- EPS of $1.81, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 4% and, by 19.1%, Q4 2022's $1.52.
- Revenue of $1.327B, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.1% and Q4 2022's $1.198 by 10.7%.
For FY 2023:
- EPS of $6.71, down 11.2% from FY 2022's $7.56.
- Revenue of $5.265B, up 2.8% from FY 2022's $5.122B.
Management guided:
For Q1 2024:
- EPS of $1.33 to $1.43, which is below the current Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.81.
- Revenue of $1.375B to $1.395B, which is below the current Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.41B.
For FY 2024:
- EPS of $7.20 to $7.50, which is below the current Zacks Consensus Estimate of $8.11.
- Revenue of $5.67B to $5.77B, the $5.72B midpoint of which is below the $5.74B midpoint of the current Zacks Consensus Estimate.
CEO Mark W. Begor commented: "Equifax performed extremely well in Q4 against our EFX2025 strategic priorities in a very challenging mortgage market, delivering revenue of $1.327B, up a strong 11% and EPS of $1.81, up 19% versus last year, from strong revenue growth and execution of our 2023 $210M Cloud spending reduction plan.
"Our non-mortgage business, which was over 80% of Equifax revenue in Q4, delivered very strong broad-based 14% local currency revenue growth, from continued strong new product performance with record New Product Vitality Index of 14%.
"Workforce Solutions, our largest and fastest growing business, delivered an exceptional quarter with very strong 27% non-mortgage Verification Services revenue growth led by the Government and Talent businesses.
"USIS delivered revenue growth of 5% from strong 16% mortgage revenue growth, and International had a strong quarter, finishing with organic local currency revenue growth of 6%.
"We are issuing our FY 2024 guidance midpoint expectation for revenue of $5.72B, up 8.6% on a reported basis and organic local currency growth of 8.5%.
"Non-mortgage local currency revenue growth is expected to be over 10.5% versus 2023 and EPS of $7.35.
"While Equifax continues to execute well against its EFX2025 strategic priorities, our 2024 guidance reflects an expectation of an over 16% decline in our 2024 U.S. mortgage credit inquiries, compared to down 34% in 2023, with first half mortgage credit inquiries weaker than the second half.
"Across USIS and Workforce Solutions, we expect to outperform the U.S. mortgage market by about 24%.
"EBITDA margins are expected to expand to 33.3%, reflecting organic revenue growth and the additional cost savings from Cloud spending reductions plans as well as higher costs from normalization of incentive plans.
"We have strong momentum as we enter 2024 and are confident in the future of the New Equifax as we deliver strong double-digit non-mortgage revenue growth, finalize our Cloud transformation, leverage our new Cloud capabilities to accelerate new product roll-outs that 'Only Equifax' can provide, and invest in new products, data, analytics, and AI capabilities which are expected to drive growth in 2024 and beyond.
"We are energized about the New Equifax and remain confident in our long-term 8% to 12% revenue growth framework that is expected to deliver higher margins and free cash flow."
Simon Clinch, a bottom 21% analyst from Redburn Atlantic downgrades EFX to a hold rating and announces their EFX price target of $272.00, on Jan 11, 2024.
Shlomo Rosenbaum, a top 21% analyst from Stifel Nicolaus maintains EFX with a strong buy rating and raises their EFX price target from $208.00 to $289.00, on Jan 9, 2024.
You can dive deeper into what analysts are saying on the Equifax stock forecast page.
EFX Trading Indicators
EFX Revenue
Last year, EFX earnings were $557.80M. Over the last four year, EFX's earnings have increased by 17.46% per year. This was faster than the Consulting Services industry average of 7.64%.
Last year, EFX revenue was $5.35B. During the past five year, EFX's revenue has increased by 9.55% per year. This was faster than the Consulting Services industry average of 7.52%.
Learn more about EFX's earnings and revenue performance here.
What are EFX insiders up to?
Over the last year, executives and large shareholders at EFX have sold more shares than they have bought.
Mark W. Begor, CEO of EFX, was the latest EFX insider to sell. They sold $9,388,792.80 worth of EFX stock on Feb 28, 2024.
Dig into more about who owns EFX stock here.
Does EFX stock generate passive income?
Equifax pays a dividend of 0.7%, compared to the Consulting Services industry's average dividend yield of 1.39%. If you owned $1,000 of EFX stock, you would have received $6.98 in the past 12 months.
Equifax dividend payments have consistently grown over the past decade and have remained stable.
Dig into more data about Equifax dividend yield and history here.
What others are saying about EFX
One of the major reasons eToro is our highest-rated brokerage is because of its social trading community.
Click below to learn what other traders have to say.
Step 5: Execute your EFX purchase
You have two main order types:
- Market order: A market order is an order to buy or sell a stock at the best available price.
Market orders are generally the best for newer investors. - Limit order: A limit order allows you to buy or sell a security at a specific price (or better).
If you want to be certain you're buying or selling at a given dollar amount, place a limit order.
Click the Open button and eToro will place your order.
If you want more help investing in stocks on eToro, click the how to video below:
Step 6: Get updates on your EFX position
Now that you own some EFX stock, you'll want to keep up with your shares.
Create a watchlist to get alerted to the latest events about your EFX stock.
EFX Feed
How to Buy Stock in Equifax
To summarize, here are the 6 steps you need to take to buy Equifax stock right now:
- Figure out where to buy Equifax stock
- Sign up for a brokerage account
- Fund your brokerage account
- Analyze Equifax stock
- Execute your EFX purchase
- Get updates on your EFX position
If you require a brokerage, eToro is our favorite option.
Get Started with eToro TodayIf you would like to watch your investment in Equifax, hit the button below to create your watchlist.
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