Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Reaches New 52-Week High Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $38.95 and last traded at $38.88, with a volume of 3104601 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $36.91.

The company reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $2.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.59 billion. Equitable’s quarterly revenue was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.96 earnings per share.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on EQH. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Equitable from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Equitable from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Equitable from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Equitable from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Equitable from $34.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $39.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 9,969 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.24, for a total transaction of $361,276.56. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 141,062 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,112,086.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 9,969 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.24, for a total transaction of $361,276.56. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 141,062 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,112,086.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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 directly owns 144,132 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,903,370.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 181,907 shares of company stock worth $6,395,849 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its stake in Equitable by 143.1% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,004 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 591 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Equitable by 126.2% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 704 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in Equitable in the fourth quarter valued at $50,000. Rise Advisors LLC raised its position in Equitable by 1,421.4% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 1,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 1,592 shares during the period. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in Equitable in the fourth quarter valued at $64,000. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equitable Stock Up 4.7 %

The company has a market cap of $12.66 billion, a PE ratio of 11.01 and a beta of 1.42. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $32.82.

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.