Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Director Sells $386,550.00 in Stock

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) Director Charles G.T. Stonehill sold 7,500 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.54, for a total value of $386,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 34,357 shares in the company, valued at $1,770,759.78. The trade was a 17.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Equitable Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EQH opened at $51.72 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $14.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.63, a PEG ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.09. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $46.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.75. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $35.19 and a twelve month high of $55.24.

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

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is presently -36.25%.

Equitable News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Equitable this week:

• Positive Sentiment: KBW reaffirmed its Buy/Outperform view and raised its price target to $67 from $62. The new target implies meaningful upside from recent trading levels and reinforces the bullish analyst outlook for EQH. KBW Reaffirms Buy Rating on Equitable Holdings
• Positive Sentiment: Merger synergies and capital returns continue to support the investment case. Analysts expect the planned Corebridge Financial combination to generate approximately $550 million in cost synergies and about 10% EPS accretion by 2027. Expected 2026 cash generation of roughly $1.8 billion and buybacks that could reduce the share count by approximately 8% are additional potential catalysts. Equitable Holdings Buybacks and Credit Resilience
• Positive Sentiment: Equitable’s latest earnings exceeded expectations. Second-quarter EPS was $1.70 versus the $1.65 consensus estimate, improving from $1.10 a year earlier. The company also maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share.
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are assessing second-quarter commentary on merger momentum, organic growth and strategic divestitures. Further details from the earnings call may influence expectations for future growth and execution. EQH Q2 Deep Dive
• Negative Sentiment: Several insiders have recently sold EQH shares. Director Craig Mackay sold 2,200 shares for approximately $113,000, following sales by other directors and Chief Accounting Officer William Eckert. Reports cite 34 insider sales and no purchases over the past six months, which could temper investor confidence. Equitable Insider Selling
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue remains a key concern. Quarterly revenue declined 29.8% year over year to $1.66 billion, well below the $3.84 billion analyst estimate, limiting the impact of the EPS beat.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EQH has been the topic of several research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Equitable from $62.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays lifted their target price on Equitable from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Equitable from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Wolfe Research downgraded Equitable from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Equitable from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.17.

Institutional Trading of Equitable

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Equitable during the second quarter worth about $1,136,305,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Equitable by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 17,258,124 shares of the company’s stock valued at $822,351,000 after purchasing an additional 1,132,861 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of Equitable by 23.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 13,545,628 shares of the company’s stock valued at $645,449,000 after purchasing an additional 2,532,791 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Equitable in the 4th quarter worth approximately $550,995,000. Finally, Pzena Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Equitable during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $244,052,000. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.