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

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, ten have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $60.0833.

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on EQH shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on Equitable from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Barclays cut their price objective on Equitable from $51.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Evercore set a $63.00 target price on Equitable and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Equitable from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Equitable from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th.

Equitable Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of EQH stock opened at $47.99 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $44.49 and a 200 day moving average of $42.92. 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 stock has a market cap of $13.10 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.90, a P/E/G ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 1.10. Equitable has a twelve month low of $35.19 and a twelve month high of $55.24.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.02. Equitable had a negative net margin of 7.26% and a positive return on equity of 232.29%. The business had revenue of $4.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.95 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.35 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Equitable will post 7.11 EPS for the current year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd will be given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 3rd. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -42.25%.

Insider Transactions at Equitable

In other Equitable news, insider Nick Lane sold 4,417 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.45, for a total value of $187,501.65. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 124,218 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,273,054.10. This represents a 3.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 14,358 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.11, for a total value of $647,689.38. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 74,748 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,371,882.28. The trade was a 16.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 88,803 shares of company stock valued at $3,913,078. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its position in Equitable by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,726 shares of the company’s stock worth $130,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in Equitable by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $143,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its stake 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 valued at $134,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG lifted its stake in shares of Equitable by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 19,109 shares of the company’s stock valued at $708,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional grew its holdings in shares of Equitable by 30.2% during the 2nd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,282 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.