Block (NYSE:XYZ) versus Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Critical Survey

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) and Block (NYSE:XYZ) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, dividends, profitability, valuation, institutional ownership, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Volatility & Risk

Equitable has a beta of 1.09, suggesting that its share price is 9% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Block has a beta of 2.53, suggesting that its share price is 153% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Equitable and Block”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Equitable	$10.62 billion	1.36	-$1.38 billion	($3.31)	-16.02
Block	$25.04 billion	1.97	$1.31 billion	$0.56	147.73

Block has higher revenue and earnings than Equitable. Equitable is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Block, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

92.7% of Equitable shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 70.4% of Block shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.1% of Equitable shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 11.4% of Block shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Equitable and Block’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Equitable	-8.72%	511.35%	0.61%
Block	1.43%	8.10%	4.53%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Equitable and Block, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Equitable	1	2	10	1	2.79
Block	0	8	28	3	2.87

Equitable presently has a consensus price target of $61.17, indicating a potential upside of 15.37%. Block has a consensus price target of $95.23, indicating a potential upside of 15.11%. Given Equitable’s higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Equitable is more favorable than Block.

Summary

Block beats Equitable on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Equitable

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. The Individual Retirement segment offers a suite of variable annuity products primarily to affluent and high net worth individuals. The Group Retirement segment provides tax-deferred investment and retirement services or products to plans sponsored by educational entities, municipalities, and not-for-profit entities, as well as small and medium-sized businesses. The Investment Management and Research segment offers diversified investment management, research, and related services to various clients through institutional. The Protection Solutions segment provides life insurance products, such as VUL insurance and IUL insurance, term life, and employee benefits business, such as dental, vision, life, as well as short- and long-term disability insurance products to small and medium-sized businesses. The Wealth Management segment offers discretionary and non-discretionary investment advisory accounts, financial planning and advice, life insurance, and annuity products. The Legacy segment consists of the capital intensive fixed-rate GMxB business that includes ROP death benefits. The company was formerly known as AXA Equitable Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to Equitable Holdings, Inc. in January 2020. Equitable Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1859 and is based in New York, New York.

About Block

Square, Inc. provides payment and point-of-sale solutions in the United States and internationally. The company's commerce ecosystem includes point-of-sale software and hardware that enables sellers to turn mobile and computing devices into payment and point-of-sale solutions. It offers hardware products, including Magstripe reader, which enables swiped transactions of magnetic stripe cards; Contactless and chip reader that accepts EMV® chip cards and Near Field Communication payments; Chip card reader, which accepts EMV® chip cards and enables swiped transactions of magnetic stripe cards; Square Stand, which enables an iPad to be used as a payment terminal or full point of sale solution; and Square Register that combines its hardware, point-of-sale software, and payments technology, as well as managed payments solutions. The company also provides Square Point of Sale software; Cash App, which provides access to the financial system, allowing customers to electronically send, store, and spend money; Caviar, a food ordering platform for restaurants to offer food ordering, pickup and delivery, to their customers; and Square Capital that facilitates loans to sellers based on real-time payment and point-of-sale data. Square, Inc. was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.