Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by ($0.08), Zacks reports. Equitable had a positive return on equity of 76.47% and a negative net margin of 2.64%.

Equitable Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE EQH traded up $0.20 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $53.45. The stock had a trading volume of 4,248,491 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,816,143. The firm has a market cap of $16.75 billion, a P/E ratio of -49.03 and a beta of 1.39. Equitable has a fifty-two week low of $32.54 and a fifty-two week high of $54.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 0.12 and a quick ratio of 0.12. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $49.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.20.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 26th. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is -88.07%.

Insider Activity at Equitable

In other news, insider Nick Lane sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.65, for a total transaction of $1,291,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 121,629 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,282,137.85. The trade was a 17.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,666 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.53, for a total value of $316,834.98. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 105,246 shares in the company, valued at $5,002,342.38. The trade was a 5.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 161,698 shares of company stock worth $7,904,806 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on EQH shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Equitable from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Equitable in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $47.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Equitable from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $54.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Equitable from $45.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.67.

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.