Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Director Bertram Scott Sells 2,470 Shares

Key Points

• Equitable director Bertram Scott sold 2,470 shares on June 4 at an average price of $41.08, totaling about $101,468. After the sale, he still held 27,931 shares valued at roughly $1.15 million.
• The company posted stronger-than-expected quarterly results, reporting EPS of $1.62 versus analyst estimates of $1.60 and revenue of $4.23 billion, ahead of forecasts. However, revenue still declined 7.6% year over year.
• Equitable raised its quarterly dividend and expanded share buybacks, boosting the payout to $0.30 per share and authorizing a $1 billion repurchase program. Analysts currently have a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with a $58.18 price target.

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report) Director Bertram Scott sold 2,470 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.08, for a total transaction of $101,467.60. Following the transaction, the director owned 27,931 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,147,405.48. The trade was a 8.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Equitable Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:EQH traded up $0.65 on Friday, reaching $40.86. 3,288,890 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,886,006. The company has a fifty day moving average of $40.60 and a 200-day moving average of $43.25. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $35.19 and a twelve month high of $56.61. The company has a market capitalization of $11.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.39, a PEG ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.75.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The company reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.02. Equitable had a negative net margin of 7.26% and a positive return on equity of 232.29%. The firm had revenue of $4.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.95 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.35 EPS. The business's revenue was down 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. This is a boost from Equitable's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Equitable's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -42.25%.

Equitable announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 11th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 7.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on EQH shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Equitable in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Equitable from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Equitable from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Equitable from $66.00 to $58.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Evercore set a $63.00 price target on shares of Equitable and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $58.18.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equitable

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its position in Equitable by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,726 shares of the company's stock valued at $130,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Equitable by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,999 shares of the company's stock worth $143,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its holdings in Equitable by 11.7% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 2,634 shares of the company's stock worth $134,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG raised its holdings in Equitable by 1.5% in the first quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 19,109 shares of the company's stock worth $708,000 after buying an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Equitable by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,882 shares of the company's stock worth $137,000 after buying an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.70% of the company's stock.

Equitable Company Profile

Equitable Holdings, Inc NYSE: EQH is a leading provider of life insurance, annuities and retirement plan services in the United States. Through its insurance subsidiary, AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company, the firm offers a broad range of permanent and term life insurance products designed to help individuals and families manage risk and build wealth. In addition, Equitable provides fixed, variable and indexed annuity solutions to support income planning in retirement, as well as a suite of group retirement and pension plan services for employers and plan sponsors.

The company also maintains an asset management arm that delivers investment strategies across equities, fixed income and alternative asset classes for both retail and institutional clients.

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