Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $44.59 and last traded at $44.49, with a volume of 486507 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $44.00.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on EQH shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Equitable from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Equitable from $36.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Equitable from $48.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Barclays boosted 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. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Equitable from $41.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $48.70.

Equitable Price Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average of $41.49 and a 200 day moving average of $40.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.10 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.06, a current ratio of 0.12 and a quick ratio of 0.12.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.03. Equitable had a return on equity of 87.49% and a net margin of 7.87%. The firm had revenue of $3.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.17 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 47.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th were paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 6th. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.72%.

Insider Transactions at Equitable

In other news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.78, for a total transaction of $1,223,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 668,555 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,263,672.90. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.78, for a total transaction of $1,223,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 668,555 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,263,672.90. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.42, for a total value of $148,470.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 19,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $819,596.82. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 93,500 shares of company stock valued at $3,969,870 over the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equitable

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky bought a new position in Equitable in the 4th quarter valued at $2,892,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Equitable in the 4th quarter valued at $315,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Equitable by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,012,452 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,265,815,000 after purchasing an additional 446,752 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Equitable in the 1st quarter valued at $532,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Equitable by 26.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,939 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares during the period. 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.