Short Interest in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) Declines By 7.0%

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,840,000 shares, a drop of 7.0% from the August 31st total of 4,130,000 shares. Approximately 1.2% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 2,210,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.7 days.

Equitable Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:EQH traded down $0.32 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $41.71. The company had a trading volume of 1,725,940 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,505,323. Equitable has a one year low of $24.65 and a one year high of $44.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.06. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $40.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.89. The firm has a market cap of $13.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.91 and a beta of 1.42.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.03. Equitable had a return on equity of 87.49% and a net margin of 7.87%. The firm had revenue of $3.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.17 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 47.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Equitable will post 6.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th were paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 6th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. Equitable’s payout ratio is 29.72%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 9,969 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.09, for a total transaction of $429,564.21. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 111,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,806,775.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Equitable news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.78, for a total transaction of $1,223,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 668,555 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,263,672.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 9,969 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.09, for a total transaction of $429,564.21. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 111,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,806,775.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 73,469 shares of company stock worth $3,067,434. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Equitable

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of EQH. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Equitable by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,012,452 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,265,815,000 after acquiring an additional 446,752 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Equitable by 60.9% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 100,476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,819,000 after purchasing an additional 38,040 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Equitable by 265.0% during the 1st quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 69,503 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,642,000 after purchasing an additional 50,460 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky purchased a new stake in Equitable during the 4th quarter worth about $2,892,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in Equitable in the 2nd quarter worth about $831,000. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on EQH shares. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Equitable from $44.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays initiated coverage on Equitable in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $59.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Equitable from $48.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Equitable from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, UBS Group downgraded shares of Equitable from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $40.00 to $43.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.64.

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.