Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Director Sells 1,466 Shares

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) Director Bertram Scott sold 1,466 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.15, for a total value of $74,985.90. Following the sale, the director owned 26,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,353,684.75. This trade represents a 5.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Equitable Stock Up 1.9%

NYSE:EQH traded up $1.00 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $52.52. 3,084,582 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,763,436. The company has a quick ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.75. The company has a market cap of $14.34 billion, a PE ratio of -15.87, a PEG ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.09. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $45.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.05. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $35.19 and a one year high of $55.24.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.05. Equitable had a negative net margin of 8.72% and a positive return on equity of 511.35%. The firm had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.10 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 29.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -36.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on EQH. Wolfe Research lowered Equitable from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Equitable from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Equitable from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Barclays raised their target price on Equitable from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Equitable from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.75.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equitable

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of EQH. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its position in Equitable by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,726 shares of the company’s stock worth $130,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Equitable by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $143,000 after buying an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its holdings in Equitable by 11.7% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 2,634 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares during the period. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG raised its position in Equitable by 1.5% in the first quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 19,109 shares of the company’s stock worth $708,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional lifted its holdings in Equitable by 30.2% in the second quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,282 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares during the period. 92.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.