Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) Short Interest Down 16.8% in March

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,800,000 shares, a decrease of 16.8% from the March 15th total of 5,770,000 shares. Currently, 1.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 3,150,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.5 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EQH has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of 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 report on Friday, January 10th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Equitable from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Equitable from $68.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Equitable from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Equitable from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $49.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.91.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,666 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.57, for a total value of $317,101.62. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 101,646 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,835,300.22. This represents a 6.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Nick Lane sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.12, for a total value of $255,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 139,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,109,411.76. The trade was a 3.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 83,332 shares of company stock valued at $4,141,315. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Equitable

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Equitable by 13.5% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 501,498 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,076,000 after purchasing an additional 59,844 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its position in shares of Equitable by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 388,430 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,326,000 after buying an additional 11,085 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Equitable by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,117,568 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,001,000 after acquiring an additional 148,180 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Equitable by 20.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 908,653 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,191,000 after acquiring an additional 153,457 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Equitable by 195.6% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equitable Trading Down 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE:EQH traded down $1.14 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $45.73. 275,924 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,105,886. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $51.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.03 billion, a PE ratio of 11.97 and a beta of 1.23. Equitable has a one year low of $36.46 and a one year high of $56.00.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by ($0.08). Equitable had a return on equity of 85.70% and a net margin of 10.51%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Equitable will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.13%.

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.