Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) Short Interest Up 20.2% in January

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 7,680,687 shares, a growth of 20.2% from the December 31st total of 6,387,550 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,379,656 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.2 days. Approximately 2.7% of the shares of the company are sold short. Approximately 2.7% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,379,656 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.2 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Equitable news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 39,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.20, for a total value of $1,834,140.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 652,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,166,059. The trade was a 5.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nick Lane sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.65, for a total transaction of $1,429,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 99,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,762,998.70. The trade was a 23.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 203,770 shares of company stock valued at $9,462,206 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Equitable

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Equitable by 18.3% during the second quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,985,846 shares of the company’s stock worth $223,168,000 after acquiring an additional 615,314 shares during the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd grew its position in Equitable by 26.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 241,175 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,616,000 after purchasing an additional 50,455 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. increased its stake in Equitable by 53.9% during the 2nd quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 17,315 shares of the company’s stock valued at $971,000 after purchasing an additional 6,065 shares in the last quarter. Algebris UK Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Equitable by 28.6% during the third quarter. Algebris UK Ltd. now owns 712,460 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,151,000 after buying an additional 158,488 shares during the period. Finally, Vinva Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Equitable during the second quarter worth $817,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Equitable Price Performance

Equitable stock traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $44.85. 5,022,867 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,928,806. The company has a quick ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.87. Equitable has a 12 month low of $41.39 and a 12 month high of $56.61. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $47.20 and its 200-day moving average is $49.29. The stock has a market cap of $12.85 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.25, a PEG ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 1.12.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.73 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by ($0.02). Equitable had a negative net margin of 5.80% and a positive return on equity of 107.71%. The firm had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Equitable will post 7.33 EPS for the current year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 24th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 24th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is currently -39.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on EQH. Raymond James Financial set a $60.00 price target on Equitable in a report on Monday, January 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Equitable from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $64.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Mizuho set a $65.00 target price on shares of Equitable in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Zacks Research cut Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Equitable from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equitable currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.46.

About Equitable

Equitable Holdings, Inc (NYSE: EQH) is a leading provider of life insurance, annuities and retirement plan services in the United States. Through its insurance subsidiary, AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company, the firm offers a broad range of permanent and term life insurance products designed to help individuals and families manage risk and build wealth. In addition, Equitable provides fixed, variable and indexed annuity solutions to support income planning in retirement, as well as a suite of group retirement and pension plan services for employers and plan sponsors.

The company also maintains an asset management arm that delivers investment strategies across equities, fixed income and alternative asset classes for both retail and institutional clients.