Short Interest in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) Expands By 17.4%

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) was the target of a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,250,000 shares, a growth of 17.4% from the March 15th total of 3,620,000 shares. Approximately 1.3% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 2,630,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.6 days.

Equitable Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE EQH opened at $35.84 on Tuesday. Equitable has a twelve month low of $21.89 and a twelve month high of $38.44. The company has a market capitalization of $11.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.60 and a beta of 1.42. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $32.10.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $3.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.50 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Equitable will post 6.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.46%. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Equitable from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Equitable from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. UBS Group raised their target price on Equitable from $34.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Equitable from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Equitable from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $39.67.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Nick Lane sold 20,000 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.02, for a total value of $680,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 144,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,903,370.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Charles G.T. Stonehill sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.02, for a total transaction of $170,100.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 29,758 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,012,367.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Nick Lane sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.02, for a total value of $680,400.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 144,132 shares in the company, valued at $4,903,370.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 201,938 shares of company stock valued at $6,890,172 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BTC Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Equitable during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,726,000. Rise Advisors LLC boosted its position in Equitable by 1,421.4% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 1,704 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 1,592 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Equitable by 26.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,939 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 405 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Equitable during the 1st quarter worth $532,000. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in Equitable during the 4th quarter worth $9,168,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

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.