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

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $50.10.

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

Equitable Stock Performance

Shares of Equitable stock opened at $47.64 on Friday. Equitable has a 52 week low of $31.76 and a 52 week high of $50.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $47.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.48. The company has a market cap of $14.93 billion, a PE ratio of -43.71 and a beta of 1.39.

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

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th were paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 26th. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is currently -88.07%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Nick Lane sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.84, for a total transaction of $1,146,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 141,629 shares in the company, valued at $6,492,273.36. This represents a 15.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.40, for a total transaction of $1,332,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 658,555 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,239,842. This trade represents a 4.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 130,032 shares of company stock worth $6,031,759 over the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of EQH. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Equitable by 61.5% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 646 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the period. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equitable in the 3rd quarter valued at about $48,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of Equitable by 86.3% during 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 last quarter. Quarry LP grew its holdings in shares of Equitable by 623.5% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,366 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 2,039 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp bought a new position in shares of Equitable in the second quarter worth approximately $109,000. 92.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.