Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) Short Interest Up 19.4% in March

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 8,019,332 shares, an increase of 19.4% from the February 26th total of 6,717,404 shares. Approximately 2.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 3,356,320 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.4 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Nick Lane sold 30,000 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.65, for a total transaction of $1,429,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 99,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,762,998.70. This trade represents a 23.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 39,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.20, for a total transaction of $1,834,140.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 652,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,166,059. The trade was a 5.73% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 76,490 shares of company stock worth $3,587,184. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Equitable during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Equitable by 124.7% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 728 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equitable in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Hilltop National Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Equitable during the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Equitable during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on EQH shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Equitable from $60.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Equitable from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Equitable in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Zacks Research cut Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods began coverage on Equitable in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $53.00 price objective for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.55.

Equitable Price Performance

EQH opened at $37.62 on Thursday. Equitable has a 1 year low of $35.19 and a 1 year high of $56.61. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $41.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.55 billion, a PE ratio of -7.81, a P/E/G ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.42, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a current ratio of 0.13.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Equitable’s payout ratio is currently -22.41%.

Equitable announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 11th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 7.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

About Equitable

Equitable Holdings, Inc (NYSE: EQH) is a leading provider of life insurance, annuities and retirement plan services in the United States. Through its insurance subsidiary, AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company, the firm offers a broad range of permanent and term life insurance products designed to help individuals and families manage risk and build wealth. In addition, Equitable provides fixed, variable and indexed annuity solutions to support income planning in retirement, as well as a suite of group retirement and pension plan services for employers and plan sponsors.

The company also maintains an asset management arm that delivers investment strategies across equities, fixed income and alternative asset classes for both retail and institutional clients.