Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Shares Down 6.6% – Time to Sell?

Shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) traded down 6.6% during trading on Friday. The stock traded as low as $51.40 and last traded at $51.4220. 1,749,316 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 50% from the average daily volume of 3,485,348 shares. The stock had previously closed at $55.04.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on EQH. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Equitable from $67.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $66.00 price objective on shares of Equitable in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Equitable from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Barclays lifted their price target on Equitable from $52.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock 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 note on Thursday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $63.18.

Equitable Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $52.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $47.14. The stock has a market cap of $14.23 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.10. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.84 billion. Equitable had a negative net margin of 8.72% and a positive return on equity of 511.35%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 29.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.10 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Equitable

In related news, insider Nick Lane sold 14,923 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 110,007 shares in the company, valued at $5,856,772.68. This represents a 11.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles Stonehill sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.54, for a total transaction of $386,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 34,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,770,759.78. The trade was a 17.92% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 32,816 shares of company stock worth $1,731,591 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Equitable by 92.1% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 19,851 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,018,000 after acquiring an additional 9,519 shares during the period. MBL Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Equitable in the 3rd quarter worth about $240,000. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equitable in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equitable in the 3rd quarter valued at about $256,000. Finally, Pinnacle Associates Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Equitable by 13.4% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 45,595 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,338,000 after purchasing an additional 5,400 shares in the last quarter. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Equitable

Equitable Holdings, Inc (NYSE: EQH) is a financial services company that provides retirement, protection and wealth management solutions to individuals, families and institutions. Its businesses offer life insurance, annuities, investment products, retirement planning and financial advice.

Through Equitable, the company provides life insurance and retirement products, while Equitable Advisors offers financial planning, investment advisory and insurance services through a network of financial professionals.