Equitable Holdings, Inc. to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.27 (NYSE:EQH)

Key Points

• Equitable Holdings, Inc. announced a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, which translates to an annualized dividend of $1.08 and a yield of 2.05%, with payment set for August 12th.
• Equitable has a low payout ratio of 13.3%, indicating strong earnings coverage for its dividend, and is projected to earn $8.29 per share in the upcoming year.
• Research analysts currently have a "Moderate Buy" rating on Equitable, with an average price target of $65.30, following recent updates from multiple investment firms.

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, July 25th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be paid a dividend of 0.27 per share on Tuesday, August 12th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.05%.

Equitable has a payout ratio of 13.3% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Equitable to earn $8.29 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.08 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 13.0%.

Equitable Price Performance

Shares of EQH traded up $0.52 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $52.58. 1,794,274 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,767,285. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 0.10 and a current ratio of 0.10. Equitable has a 12-month low of $36.46 and a 12-month high of $56.61. The company has a market cap of $15.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.29 and a beta of 1.15. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $53.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $52.07.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $4.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.05 billion. Equitable had a return on equity of 79.05% and a net margin of 8.50%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 105.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.43 EPS. Research analysts expect that Equitable will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EQH has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Equitable from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Equitable from $69.00 to $64.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $68.00 price objective (up previously from $67.00) on shares of Equitable in a report on Monday, July 14th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Equitable from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Equitable from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $65.30.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Equitable news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,666 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.91, for a total transaction of $352,698.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 94,980 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,025,391.80. This trade represents a 6.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Nick Lane sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.91, for a total value of $264,550.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 139,073 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,358,352.43. The trade was a 3.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 135,666 shares of company stock worth $7,145,208. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equitable

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Equitable stock. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) by 92.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 882 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 424 shares during the quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc.'s holdings in Equitable were worth $46,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.70% of the company's stock.

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.

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