Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Share Price Breaks Above 50-Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) passed above its 50-day moving average during trading on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $53.28 and traded as high as $56.00. Equitable shares last traded at $55.4750, with a volume of 1,989,208 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on EQH shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Equitable from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Equitable from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 4th. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $65.00 target price on shares of Equitable in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Equitable from $52.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Equitable from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equitable has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.33.

Equitable Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $14.90 billion, a PE ratio of 10.73, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.06. The business’s 50 day moving average is $53.52 and its 200 day moving average is $46.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.75.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 2nd. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $3.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.75 billion. Equitable had a negative return on equity of 3,089.96% and a net margin of 11.53%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 167.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.48 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.20 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 30th. Investors of record on Monday, November 23rd will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 23rd. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.03%.

Insider Activity at Equitable

In related news, Director Bertram Scott sold 2,780 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.35, for a total transaction of $151,093.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 23,685 shares in the company, valued at $1,287,279.75. This trade represents a 10.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Nick Lane sold 14,923 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.24, for a total transaction of $794,500.52. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 110,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,856,772.68. This trade represents a 11.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,703 shares of company stock worth $1,106,964. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Equitable in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,136,305,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in Equitable during the second quarter worth $399,576,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Equitable by 6.3% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,784,986 shares of the company’s stock worth $385,485,000 after buying an additional 523,638 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Equitable by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 5,618,993 shares of the company’s stock valued at $288,086,000 after acquiring an additional 57,189 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thornburg Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Equitable by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,142,337 shares of the company’s stock valued at $225,646,000 after acquiring an additional 148,132 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Equitable Company Profile

Equitable Holdings, Inc. is a financial services company focused on retirement, protection and wealth management. Through its Equitable business, it offers products and services including life insurance, annuities, employee benefits and retirement planning solutions to individuals, employers and institutions. The company also has a majority ownership interest in AllianceBernstein, an investment management and research firm that serves institutional and individual clients. AllianceBernstein operates internationally, while Equitable’s insurance and retirement businesses primarily serve customers in the United States.