Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Sees Strong Trading Volume – What’s Next?

Shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) saw an uptick in trading volume on Friday . 3,833,246 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 39% from the previous session’s volume of 2,759,507 shares.The stock last traded at $45.44 and had previously closed at $46.37.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EQH has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James Financial set a $60.00 price objective on Equitable in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Barclays set a $58.00 price objective on shares of Equitable in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Equitable from $77.00 to $67.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Equitable in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.54.

Equitable Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.87, a current ratio of 0.13 and a quick ratio of 0.13. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $46.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $49.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.09 billion, a PE ratio of -16.55 and a beta of 1.13.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.59 by ($0.11). Equitable had a negative net margin of 5.80% and a positive return on equity of 107.71%. The business had revenue of $1.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.65 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.58 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 52.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.33 EPS for the current year.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 24th were given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 24th. Equitable’s payout ratio is -39.13%.

Insider Activity at Equitable

In other news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,790 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.65, for a total transaction of $323,543.50. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 55,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,621,845.95. This represents a 10.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Nick Lane sold 30,000 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.65, for a total value of $1,429,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 99,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,762,998.70. The trade was a 23.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 203,770 shares of company stock worth $9,462,206. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equitable

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of EQH. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Equitable by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,822,908 shares of the company’s stock valued at $229,812,000 after purchasing an additional 193,640 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Equitable in the fourth quarter worth $229,000. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equitable during the fourth quarter worth $1,869,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Equitable by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 33,335 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,588,000 after buying an additional 3,423 shares during the last quarter. Finally, J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG acquired a new position in shares of Equitable in the 4th quarter valued at $897,000. Institutional investors own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Equitable Company Profile

Equitable Holdings, Inc (NYSE: EQH) is a leading provider of life insurance, annuities and retirement plan services in the United States. Through its insurance subsidiary, AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company, the firm offers a broad range of permanent and term life insurance products designed to help individuals and families manage risk and build wealth. In addition, Equitable provides fixed, variable and indexed annuity solutions to support income planning in retirement, as well as a suite of group retirement and pension plan services for employers and plan sponsors.

The company also maintains an asset management arm that delivers investment strategies across equities, fixed income and alternative asset classes for both retail and institutional clients.