Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Issues Earnings Results

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The company reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.05, FiscalAI reports. The firm had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.84 billion. Equitable had a negative net margin of 7.26% and a positive return on equity of 232.29%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 29.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.10 earnings per share.

Equitable Stock Up 5.0%

EQH traded up $2.39 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $50.64. The stock had a trading volume of 2,558,587 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,744,727. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.75. The company has a market capitalization of $13.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 1.09. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $45.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.95. Equitable has a one year low of $35.19 and a one year high of $55.24.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 3rd will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 3rd. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is presently -42.25%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 2,470 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.08, for a total value of $101,467.60. Following the sale, the director directly owned 27,931 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,147,405.48. This represents a 8.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 39,700 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.54, for a total transaction of $1,927,038.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 753,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,570,181.62. This trade represents a 5.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 128,503 shares of company stock worth $5,840,116. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Equitable

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its position in Equitable by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,726 shares of the company’s stock valued at $130,000 after buying an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Equitable by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $143,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its position in shares of Equitable by 11.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 2,634 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC boosted its stake in Equitable by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 33,093 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,680,000 after purchasing an additional 389 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in Equitable by 92.6% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 882 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares in the last quarter. 92.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on EQH shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Equitable from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Barclays increased their price objective on Equitable from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Mizuho boosted their target price on Equitable from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Evercore set a $63.00 target price on Equitable and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Equitable from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.25.

About Equitable

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.