Head-To-Head Review: Equitable (EQH) versus Its Competitors

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) is one of 334 public companies in the “Financial Services” industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its peers? We will compare Equitable to related companies based on the strength of its valuation, institutional ownership, dividends, earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations and risk.

Volatility and Risk

Equitable has a beta of 1.06, meaning that its stock price is 6% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Equitable’s peers have a beta of 2.55, meaning that their average stock price is 155% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

92.7% of Equitable shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 43.5% of shares of all “Financial Services” companies are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of Equitable shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 21.9% of shares of all “Financial Services” companies are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Equitable and its peers revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Equitable	$11.66 billion	-$1.38 billion	10.74
Equitable Competitors	$6.95 billion	$1.14 billion	8.62

Equitable has higher revenue, but lower earnings than its peers. Equitable is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Equitable and its peers, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Equitable	0	3	11	1	2.87
Equitable Competitors	1931	6947	11709	447	2.51

Equitable currently has a consensus price target of $63.50, suggesting a potential upside of 13.48%. As a group, “Financial Services” companies have a potential downside of 5.32%. Given Equitable’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Equitable is more favorable than its peers.

Profitability

This table compares Equitable and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Equitable	11.53%	-3,089.96%	0.64%
Equitable Competitors	-259.04%	-39.95%	-4.73%

Dividends

Equitable pays an annual dividend of $1.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. Equitable pays out 23.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Financial Services” companies pay a dividend yield of 4.1% and pay out -85.8% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Equitable has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years. Equitable lags its peers as a dividend stock, given its lower dividend yield and higher payout ratio.

Summary

Equitable beats its peers on 9 of the 15 factors compared.

About Equitable

Equitable Holdings, Inc. is a financial services company focused on retirement, protection and wealth management. Through its Equitable business, it offers products and services including life insurance, annuities, employee benefits and retirement planning solutions to individuals, employers and institutions. The company also has a majority ownership interest in AllianceBernstein, an investment management and research firm that serves institutional and individual clients. AllianceBernstein operates internationally, while Equitable’s insurance and retirement businesses primarily serve customers in the United States.