Equifax (NYSE:EFX) stock was down 0.95% in early afternoon trading on March 8. Shares have climbed 16.7% in 2019 so far.
Equifax struggled in 2018 on the heels of a massive data breach in late 2017. The company revealed that data for over 140 million customers had been put at risk. Disturbingly, the stolen data trove has yet to have turned up since the breach. This has led some experts to suggest that the data was stolen by a nation-state for spying purposes.
Equifax released its fourth-quarter and full-year results for 2018 on February 20. In Q4 2018 total revenue was $307.4 million which represented a 2% decline from the prior year. Mortgage Solutions revenue dropped by 17% from Q4 2017, with mortgage market inquiries down 15% year over year.
For the first quarter of fiscal 2019 Equifax is projecting revenue to be between $840 and $855 million. The company anticipates that mortgage inquiries will continue to suffer declines in the first quarter of 2019 before balancing in later quarters.
However, overall Equifax forecasts a 5% decline in mortgage inquiries in fiscal 2019 which will continue to drag on earnings.
Equifax stock was technically overbought up until late February. It now boasts an RSI of 49, which puts it in neutral territory. Economic headwinds are building up in North America which will lead to a challenging environment for Equifax in 2019. The stock at its current value is too pricey to touch today.
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