Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) Short Interest Down 27.1% in February

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 4,600,000 shares, a decline of 27.1% from the February 13th total of 6,310,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,720,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.7 days. Approximately 1.5% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insider Transactions at Equitable

In other Equitable news, insider Nick Lane sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.12, for a total value of $255,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 139,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,109,411.76. This trade represents a 3.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.16, for a total value of $1,534,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 753,206 shares in the company, valued at $38,534,018.96. This represents a 3.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 130,032 shares of company stock worth $6,589,966 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equitable

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of Equitable by 61.5% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 646 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in Equitable in the third quarter worth $243,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings in Equitable by 1.1% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 711,855 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,919,000 after purchasing an additional 7,720 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Equitable by 24.2% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 266,677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,208,000 after buying an additional 51,990 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 11,765 shares of the company’s stock valued at $494,000 after buying an additional 584 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Equitable Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of EQH stock traded down $0.56 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $51.70. The stock had a trading volume of 1,281,145 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,867,357. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.92 billion, a PE ratio of 13.54 and a beta of 1.39. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $52.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07. Equitable has a 52-week low of $35.47 and a 52-week high of $56.00.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by ($0.08). Equitable had a net margin of 10.51% and a return on equity of 85.70%. Equities analysts expect that Equitable will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.13%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Equitable from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Equitable from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Equitable from $45.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Equitable from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on Equitable from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.75.

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.