Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $50.10.

Several research analysts recently issued reports on EQH shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Equitable from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $54.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Equitable from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Equitable from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th.

Equitable Stock Up 1.9 %

NYSE:EQH opened at $48.55 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63. The company has a market cap of $15.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -44.54 and a beta of 1.39. Equitable has a twelve month low of $31.76 and a twelve month high of $50.51.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53. The company had revenue of $3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.78 billion. Equitable had a negative net margin of 2.64% and a positive return on equity of 76.47%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.15 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Equitable will post 6.05 EPS for the current year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 26th. Equitable’s payout ratio is -88.07%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.40, for a total transaction of $1,332,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 658,555 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,239,842. This represents a 4.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 1,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.68, for a total value of $79,356.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 17,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $825,162.36. This represents a 8.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 130,032 shares of company stock worth $6,031,759. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equitable

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of EQH. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Equitable by 195.6% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 532 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Equitable by 61.5% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 646 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the period. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equitable during the third quarter valued at $48,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of Equitable by 86.3% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 718 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP raised its stake in Equitable by 623.5% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,366 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,000 after acquiring an additional 2,039 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Equitable Company Profile

Equitable Holdings, Inc, together with its consolidated subsidiaries, operates as a diversified financial services company worldwide. The company operates through six segments: Individual Retirement, Group Retirement, Investment Management and Research, Protection Solutions, Wealth Management, and Legacy.