Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Sets New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday. The company traded as high as $55.23 and last traded at $54.8360, with a volume of 411002 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $54.00.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on EQH shares. Zacks Research raised Equitable from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $66.00 price objective on shares of Equitable in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Equitable from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Equitable from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Equitable from $52.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.45.

Equitable Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $14.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $51.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.75, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a current ratio of 0.15.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.84 billion. Equitable had a positive return on equity of 511.35% and a negative net margin of 8.72%.Equitable’s revenue for the quarter was down 29.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.10 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.21 EPS for the current year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. Equitable’s payout ratio is -36.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 2,780 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.35, for a total transaction of $151,093.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 23,685 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,287,279.75. The trade was a 10.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Craig C. Mackay sold 2,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.37, for a total transaction of $113,014.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 18,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $975,978.63. This represents a 10.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 72,516 shares of company stock worth $3,658,629 over the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equitable

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of EQH. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Equitable in the second quarter worth approximately $1,136,305,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in shares of Equitable in the 2nd quarter valued at $399,576,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Equitable during the second quarter worth $244,052,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor bought a new position in Equitable during the second quarter valued at about $208,146,000. Finally, Conifer Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of Equitable during the 2nd quarter worth about $184,296,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Equitable Company Profile

Equitable Holdings, Inc is a financial services company that provides retirement, protection and investment management solutions to individuals, businesses and institutions. Its businesses operate primarily in the United States and serve clients through financial professionals, employer-sponsored retirement plans and institutional relationships.

Through its Equitable business, the company offers life insurance, annuities, individual retirement products and employee benefits. Its offerings are designed to help customers accumulate and protect assets, generate retirement income and address long-term financial planning needs.