Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Issues Earnings Results

Key Points

• Equitable reported adjusted EPS of $1.62 versus the $1.60 consensus and revenue of $4.23 billion versus $3.95 billion expected, yet the company still shows a negative net margin (-11.83%) and its shares fell about 1.6% to $41.50.
• The Board authorized a $1.0 billion stock buyback (up to ~7.7% of shares) and the firm pays a quarterly dividend of $0.27 ($1.08 annual, ~2.6% yield), though its dividend payout ratio is negative (-22.41%).
• Insiders — including the COO and CEO — have been selling stock (128,116 shares worth roughly $5.2M over the last 90 days), institutions own ~92.7% of shares, and analysts' consensus rating is a "Moderate Buy" with a $56.82 target.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report) issued its earnings results on Monday. The company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.02, FiscalAI reports. The business had revenue of $4.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.95 billion. Equitable had a positive return on equity of 140.87% and a negative net margin of 11.83%.

Equitable Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of NYSE:EQH traded down $0.68 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $41.50. 4,215,204 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,591,593. The stock has a market cap of $11.68 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.42. Equitable has a 12-month low of $35.19 and a 12-month high of $56.61. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $39.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $44.10.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th were paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 4th. Equitable's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -22.41%.

Insider Activity at Equitable

In related news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 14,358 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.04, for a total transaction of $574,894.32. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 89,403 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,579,696.12. The trade was a 13.84% 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. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 39,700 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.63, for a total value of $1,652,711.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 789,183 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,853,688.29. The trade was a 4.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 128,116 shares of company stock valued at $5,205,010 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Equitable in the third quarter worth $26,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Equitable during the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Equitable by 92.6% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 882 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares during the period. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equitable during the 4th quarter valued at $73,000. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Equitable by 1,350.0% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,914 shares of the company's stock valued at $97,000 after purchasing an additional 1,782 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.70% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on EQH shares. Barclays lowered their target price on Equitable from $57.00 to $49.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Raymond James Financial set a $58.00 target price on Equitable and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Evercore set a $63.00 target price on Equitable and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Zacks Research downgraded Equitable from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Equitable from $57.00 to $56.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $56.82.

Equitable declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 7.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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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