Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Trading 3.7% Higher – Here’s Why

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)’s share price traded up 3.7% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $54.78 and last traded at $53.26. 571,338 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 2,780,409 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.37.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on EQH shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Equitable from $53.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Equitable from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Equitable from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Equitable from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Equitable in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Equitable has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $56.58.

Equitable Trading Up 4.6 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $50.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $46.38. The company has a market capitalization of $16.83 billion, a PE ratio of 14.05 and a beta of 1.39.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($0.08). Equitable had a net margin of 10.51% and a return on equity of 85.70%. On average, analysts predict that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.79%. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,666 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.38, for a total value of $369,163.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 104,298 shares in the company, valued at $5,776,023.24. This trade represents a 6.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 1,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.68, for a total value of $79,356.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 17,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $825,162.36. The trade was a 8.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 131,698 shares of company stock valued at $6,534,234 in the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Equitable

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Equitable by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 21,278,436 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,003,705,000 after acquiring an additional 535,671 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its position in shares of Equitable by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 19,032,270 shares of the company’s stock valued at $897,752,000 after purchasing an additional 79,999 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Equitable in the 4th quarter worth approximately $668,250,000. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Equitable by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,976,870 shares of the company’s stock worth $545,418,000 after purchasing an additional 338,205 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Equitable by 59.9% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,817,020 shares of the company’s stock valued at $415,899,000 after purchasing an additional 3,303,449 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.