Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Sets New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $52.78 and last traded at $52.47, with a volume of 217605 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $51.68.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EQH has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Equitable from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Equitable in a report on Thursday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $47.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Equitable from $45.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Equitable from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $53.67.

Equitable Stock Up 0.6 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $48.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.44. The company has a market capitalization of $16.66 billion, a PE ratio of -48.78 and a beta of 1.39.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53. The company had revenue of $3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.78 billion. Equitable had a negative net margin of 2.64% and a positive return on equity of 76.47%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.15 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 6.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 26th. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is currently -88.07%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Equitable news, insider Nick Lane sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.84, for a total transaction of $1,146,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 141,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,492,273.36. This trade represents a 15.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.43, for a total transaction of $1,422,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 648,555 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,760,963.65. This represents a 4.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 161,698 shares of company stock worth $7,904,806. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equitable

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new stake in shares of Equitable during the second quarter worth $110,176,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Equitable by 700.3% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,563,172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,126,000 after acquiring an additional 1,367,837 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its holdings in Equitable by 1,092.4% in the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 875,589 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,302,000 after acquiring an additional 802,160 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service lifted its stake in Equitable by 23,851.6% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 396,399 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,661,000 after purchasing an additional 394,744 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 63.3% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 954,727 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,010,000 after purchasing an additional 369,981 shares during the last quarter. 92.70% of the stock is currently 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.