Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) Short Interest Update

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,770,000 shares, an increase of 25.4% from the February 28th total of 4,600,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,960,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.9 days. Currently, 1.9% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Equitable from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. 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. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Equitable from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Equitable from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Equitable from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Equitable news, insider Nick Lane sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.12, for a total transaction of $255,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 139,073 shares in the company, valued at $7,109,411.76. The trade was a 3.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.16, for a total value of $1,534,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 753,206 shares in the company, valued at $38,534,018.96. This trade represents a 3.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 103,332 shares of company stock worth $5,364,610. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Equitable

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Equitable by 195.6% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 532 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Equitable by 111.2% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 678 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of Equitable by 33.2% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 799 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Bank Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Equitable by 61.4% during the 4th quarter. Mizuho Bank Ltd. now owns 1,130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 430 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its position in shares of Equitable by 154.3% during the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,386 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 841 shares in the last quarter. 92.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equitable Stock Performance

NYSE EQH traded up $2.68 on Wednesday, hitting $54.97. 3,119,013 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,559,507. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $53.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $48.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.87 billion, a PE ratio of 14.39 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07. Equitable has a 1-year low of $35.49 and a 1-year high of $56.00.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share 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%. As a group, analysts expect that Equitable will post 7.33 EPS for the current year.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.13%.

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.