Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Posts Earnings Results

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) released 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. The business had revenue of $3.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.99 billion. Equitable had a net margin of 3.51% and a return on equity of 78.26%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 32.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.43 earnings per share.

Equitable Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EQH traded up $1.63 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $51.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,834,501 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,405,079. Equitable has a 1-year low of $37.72 and a 1-year high of $56.61. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $53.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $52.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.13, a quick ratio of 0.10 and a current ratio of 0.09. The firm has a market cap of $15.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.91 and a beta of 1.14.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Equitable's payout ratio is 87.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equitable

In other news, insider Nick Lane sold 5,000 shares of Equitable 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 139,073 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,358,352.43. The trade was a 3.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.22, for a total transaction of $1,566,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 714,367 shares of the company's stock, valued at $37,304,244.74. This trade represents a 4.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 135,666 shares of company stock valued at $7,145,208. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Equitable stock. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) by 92.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 882 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 424 shares during the period. 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 institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on EQH. Wells Fargo & Company set a $63.00 target price on shares of Equitable and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Equitable from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $68.00 target price (up previously from $67.00) on shares of Equitable in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Equitable from $69.00 to $64.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Equitable from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equitable presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $65.00.

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.