Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $46.17 and last traded at $46.04, with a volume of 700814 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $45.85.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EQH has been the subject of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Equitable from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Equitable from $44.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Equitable from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Equitable from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Equitable from $41.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equitable has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.70.

Equitable Trading Up 0.4 %

The firm has a market cap of $14.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.20 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. The business has a 50-day moving average of $41.79 and a 200-day moving average of $40.58.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.71 billion. Equitable had a return on equity of 87.49% and a net margin of 7.87%. The business’s revenue was up 47.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.17 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 6.03 EPS 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 given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 6th. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.72%.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equitable during the 1st quarter worth approximately $532,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Equitable by 26.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,939 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,000 after buying an additional 405 shares during the period. Capital Insight Partners LLC grew its position in Equitable by 42.3% during the first quarter. Capital Insight Partners LLC now owns 17,172 shares of the company’s stock worth $653,000 after buying an additional 5,104 shares in the last quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Equitable by 40.0% during the 1st quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 10,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $399,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares during the period. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System raised its holdings in Equitable by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 84,486 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,211,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. 92.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Equitable

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.