Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Stock Falls 6.6% – What’s Next?

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)’s stock price dropped 6.6% during trading on Friday. The company traded as low as $51.40 and last traded at $51.4220. Approximately 1,749,316 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 50% from the average session volume of 3,485,348 shares. The stock had previously closed at $55.04.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on EQH. Mizuho decreased their target price on Equitable from $67.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Equitable from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 12th. UBS Group upped their target price on Equitable from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Equitable from $62.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Equitable from $52.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.18.

Equitable Stock Down 5.3%

The company has a current ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.23 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.69, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $52.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.14.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.84 billion. Equitable had a positive return on equity of 511.35% and a negative net margin of 8.72%. The company’s revenue was down 29.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.10 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equitable

In related news, insider Nick Lane sold 14,923 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction on Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.24, for a total transaction of $794,500.52. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 110,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,856,772.68. This trade represents a 11.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Bertram Scott sold 2,780 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.35, for a total value of $151,093.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 23,685 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,287,279.75. This represents a 10.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 32,816 shares of company stock valued at $1,731,591 in the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equitable

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Root Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in Equitable by 64.1% during the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 888 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Equitable in the second quarter worth about $33,000. Essential Partners LLC boosted its stake in Equitable by 245.2% in the first quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 1,084 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 770 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP purchased a new position in Equitable in the second quarter valued at about $55,000. Finally, CX Institutional grew its position in shares of Equitable by 30.2% during the 2nd 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. Institutional investors own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

About Equitable

Equitable Holdings, Inc (NYSE: EQH) is a financial services company that provides retirement, protection and wealth management solutions to individuals, families and institutions. Its businesses offer life insurance, annuities, investment products, retirement planning and financial advice.

Through Equitable, the company provides life insurance and retirement products, while Equitable Advisors offers financial planning, investment advisory and insurance services through a network of financial professionals.