Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $64.1818.

EQH has been the topic of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Equitable from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Equitable from $65.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Equitable from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Equitable from $67.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Equitable to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th.

Equitable Stock Performance

NYSE EQH opened at $48.27 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $47.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $50.97. The company has a market capitalization of $13.83 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.49 and a beta of 1.12. Equitable has a 1-year low of $41.39 and a 1-year high of $56.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.87, a current ratio of 0.13 and a quick ratio of 0.13.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.59 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $1.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.65 billion. Equitable had a negative net margin of 5.80% and a positive return on equity of 107.71%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 52.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.58 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Equitable will post 7.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 24th were paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 24th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Equitable’s payout ratio is presently -39.13%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 4,300 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.27, for a total transaction of $203,261.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 15,625 shares in the company, valued at $738,593.75. The trade was a 21.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,790 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.28, for a total transaction of $293,871.20. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 68,308 shares in the company, valued at $2,956,370.24. The trade was a 9.04% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 180,658 shares of company stock valued at $8,963,860 over the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equitable

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Equitable by 18.3% in the second quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,985,846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $223,168,000 after acquiring an additional 615,314 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Equitable by 53.9% in the second quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 17,315 shares of the company’s stock valued at $971,000 after purchasing an additional 6,065 shares during the period. Vinva Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in Equitable during the 2nd quarter valued at $817,000. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Equitable during the 2nd quarter worth $434,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in Equitable by 3,555.3% in the 2nd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 21,932 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,230,000 after buying an additional 21,332 shares in the last quarter. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.