Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Equitable Holdings, Inc. has received an average consensus rating of "Buy" from eleven analysts, with an average target price set at $64.55.
• Insider trading activity shows CEO Mark Pearson sold 39,700 shares, reducing his holdings by 5.35%, while overall insider sales in the past 90 days amounted to $10.25 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.27, representing an annualized yield of 2.1%.

Shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Buy" from the eleven analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $64.5455.

Several research analysts recently issued reports on EQH shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Equitable from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Equitable from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Equitable from $66.00 to $63.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Equitable to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Equitable from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 18th.

Insider Activity

In other Equitable news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 39,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.05, for a total value of $2,106,085.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 703,029 shares in the company, valued at $37,295,688.45. The trade was a 5.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 2,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.86, for a total transaction of $134,836.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 26,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,348,411.86. This trade represents a 9.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 192,468 shares of company stock worth $10,250,470. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equitable

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Equitable during the first quarter worth about $26,000. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new position in Equitable in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in Equitable by 592.6% in the 2nd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 561 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Equitable in the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Equitable by 92.6% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 882 shares of the company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.70% of the company's stock.

Equitable Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of Equitable stock opened at $52.25 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.94, a current ratio of 0.14 and a quick ratio of 0.14. Equitable has a 1 year low of $40.81 and a 1 year high of $56.61. The company has a market capitalization of $15.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.14 and a beta of 1.16. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $52.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.18.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th were issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Equitable's payout ratio is currently 87.10%.

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.

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