Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 4,600,000 shares, a decline of 27.1% from the February 13th total of 6,310,000 shares. Approximately 1.5% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,720,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.7 days.

Insider Transactions at Equitable

In other Equitable news, insider Nick Lane sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.65, for a total transaction of $1,291,250.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 121,629 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,282,137.85. This represents a 17.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 1,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.68, for a total value of $79,356.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 17,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $825,162.36. This trade represents a 8.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 130,032 shares of company stock valued at $6,589,966 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equitable

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of EQH. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Equitable by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 21,278,436 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,003,705,000 after acquiring an additional 535,671 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its stake in Equitable by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 19,032,270 shares of the company’s stock valued at $897,752,000 after purchasing an additional 79,999 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Equitable in the 4th quarter valued at $668,250,000. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Equitable by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,976,870 shares of the company’s stock worth $545,418,000 after purchasing an additional 338,205 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Equitable by 59.9% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,817,020 shares of the company’s stock worth $415,899,000 after buying an additional 3,303,449 shares in the last quarter. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equitable Price Performance

Shares of Equitable stock traded up $0.93 on Monday, reaching $52.20. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,795,319 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,407,396. The company has a quick ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07. The company has a market capitalization of $16.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.66 and a beta of 1.39. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $52.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $47.69. Equitable has a 52-week low of $35.18 and a 52-week high of $56.00.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($0.08). Equitable had a return on equity of 85.70% and a net margin of 10.51%. Analysts expect that Equitable will post 7.33 EPS for the current year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EQH has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Equitable from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Equitable from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $47.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Equitable from $45.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Equitable from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.75.

Equitable Company Profile

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.