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 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

Several research firms recently commented on EQH. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Equitable in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Zacks Research cut Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Equitable from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $64.00 to $60.00 in a report on Monday, January 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Equitable from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Equitable from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.54.

Equitable Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $46.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $49.65. The firm has a market cap of $13.08 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.54 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.87.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 positive return on equity of 107.71% and a negative net margin of 5.80%.The business had revenue of $1.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.65 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.58 earnings per share. Equitable’s revenue was down 52.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.33 EPS for the current year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Equitable

In related news, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 4,300 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.27, for a total value of $203,261.00. Following the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Nick Lane sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.65, for a total value of $1,429,500.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 99,958 shares in the company, valued at $4,762,998.70. This trade represents a 23.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 203,770 shares of company stock worth $9,462,206. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equitable

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Equitable during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equitable by 592.6% during the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 561 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equitable during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Hilltop National Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Equitable in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in Equitable in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

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.