Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Issues Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.05 EPS

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The company reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.05, FiscalAI reports. Equitable had a negative net margin of 7.26% and a positive return on equity of 232.29%. The company’s revenue was down 29.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.10 earnings per share.

Equitable Stock Performance

NYSE:EQH traded up $0.26 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $48.26. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,823,095 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,667,406. Equitable has a fifty-two week low of $35.19 and a fifty-two week high of $55.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.75, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11. The firm has a market cap of $13.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.05, a P/E/G ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 1.09. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $45.23 and its 200-day moving average is $42.94.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 3rd. Equitable’s payout ratio is presently -42.25%.

Insider Activity at Equitable

In other Equitable news, insider Nick Lane sold 4,417 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.45, for a total value of $187,501.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 124,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,273,054.10. The trade was a 3.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 2,470 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.08, for a total value of $101,467.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 27,931 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,147,405.48. The trade was a 8.12% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 128,503 shares of company stock valued at $5,840,116 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equitable

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Equitable in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Equitable in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Equitable by 92.6% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 882 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Equitable during the fourth quarter worth approximately $73,000. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in Equitable by 1,350.0% during the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,914 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,000 after buying an additional 1,782 shares in the last quarter. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on EQH shares. Mizuho increased their price target on Equitable from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Raymond James Financial set a $58.00 target price on Equitable and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Equitable from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Equitable from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Equitable from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.08.

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.