Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.23 EPS

Key Points

• Equitable reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, missing expectations by $0.23 compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, with an annualized yield of 2.1% and a payout ratio of 29.35%.
• Insider trading activity included the sale of shares by CAO William James Iv Eckert and another insider, with a total of 135,666 shares sold over the last 90 days.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report) issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The company reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.64 by ($0.23), Zacks reports. Equitable had a return on equity of 79.05% and a net margin of 8.50%.

Equitable Trading Down 0.3%

EQH traded down $0.14 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $50.85. 3,164,053 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,755,606. The firm's fifty day moving average is $53.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.17. Equitable has a 1-year low of $36.78 and a 1-year high of $56.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39. The company has a market cap of $15.34 billion, a PE ratio of 13.82 and a beta of 1.14.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Equitable's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Equitable news, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.09, for a total value of $212,360.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 19,827 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,052,615.43. This trade represents a 16.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Nick Lane sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.91, for a total value of $264,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 139,073 shares in the company, valued at $7,358,352.43. This represents a 3.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 135,666 shares of company stock worth $7,145,208 over the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Equitable

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Equitable stock. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) by 92.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 882 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 424 shares during the quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc.'s holdings in Equitable were worth $46,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. 92.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EQH has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group dropped their target price on Equitable from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $66.00 target price (up from $61.00) on shares of Equitable in a report on Thursday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Equitable from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Equitable from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Equitable from $69.00 to $64.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $65.30.

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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