3 Companies Cowen Analysts See Ramping Up Capital Returns In 2017 - Evertec (NYSE:EVTC), Equifax (NYSE:EFX)

Cowen analysts, led by George Mihalos, evaluated three companies —

Vantiv IncVNTV

Equifax Inc.EFX

and

Evertec IncEVTC

— as potential issues accelerating their capital returns program next year. In addition to the three highlighted, the analyst expects

Total System Services, Inc.TSS

to shift its tactics to follow suite shortly after.

The 3 In Focus

Vantiv: Cowen pointed out that the company did not buy back shares in the current year, despite buying back $200 million worth of buybacks last year. The analyst further added, "The company has $75 million remaining under a previously announced 2014 authorization." Additionally, the brokerage expects the company to deploy its free cash flow next year based on its projection of more than $700 million FCF.

Related Link: Equifax Announces CID From CFPB

Equifax: The lead analyst expects the company to generate FCF of over $770 million next year. The brokerage expects the company to restart its share buyback program, pointing out that it still has $667 million from its earlier authorization. Cowen sees the company boosting its dividend rate from $1.32 to $1.48 next year thus continuing its dividend growth streak since 2010.

Evertec: Cowen expects the company to be more aggressive next year following the $15.6 million shares worth of buyback in the first half of the current year. In 2015, the company bought back $55 million worth of shares. The brokerage expects the company to take out between 3 and 4 percent of its total outstanding shares. This would boost the "adjusted EPS growth to the high single digits from our forecasted 5 percent."

At Time Of Writing...

Equifax was trading at $132.13, up 0.18 percent on the day.
Evertec was trading at $16.98, up 0.53 percent.
Total System Services traded at $49.03, up 0.22 percent on the day.
Vantiv was up 0.55 percent, trading at $53.31.

Full ratings data available on Benzinga Pro.

Do you have ideas for articles/interviews you'd like to see more of on Benzinga? Please email feedback@benzinga.com with your best article ideas. One person will be randomly selected to win a $20 Amazon gift card!

Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs