Algebris UK Ltd. Takes $85.65 Million Position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH

Key Points

• Algebris UK Ltd. acquired 1.96 million Equitable Holdings shares worth approximately $85.65 million, making EQH its fourth-largest portfolio holding and representing about 0.72% of the company.
• Institutional investors own approximately 92.7% of EQH, with major additions from BlackRock, Norges Bank, Pzena Investment Management, and other firms; insiders sold roughly $5.36 million in shares over the past quarter.
• Equitable exceeded quarterly EPS expectations with $1.70 versus $1.65, declared a $0.30 quarterly dividend, and has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average analyst price target of $61.50.

Algebris UK Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,957,978 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $85,646,000. Equitable makes up approximately 5.6% of Algebris UK Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Algebris UK Ltd. owned approximately 0.72% of Equitable as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EQH. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Equitable in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,136,305,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Equitable by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 17,258,124 shares of the company's stock worth $822,351,000 after buying an additional 1,132,861 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its stake in Equitable by 23.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 13,545,628 shares of the company's stock worth $645,449,000 after buying an additional 2,532,791 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Equitable in the fourth quarter worth about $550,995,000. Finally, Pzena Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Equitable in the second quarter worth about $244,052,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.70% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Equitable

In related news, Director Charles G.T. Stonehill sold 7,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.54, for a total value of $386,550.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 34,357 shares in the company, valued at $1,770,759.78. The trade was a 17.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 2,470 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.08, for a total transaction of $101,467.60. Following the sale, the director directly owned 27,931 shares in the company, valued at $1,147,405.48. This trade represents a 8.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 114,541 shares of company stock worth $5,357,784 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Equitable Price Performance

EQH stock opened at $50.09 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $47.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.37. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $35.19 and a 52-week high of $55.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.13, a PEG ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.75, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a current ratio of 0.15.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.05. Equitable had a positive return on equity of 511.35% and a negative net margin of 8.72%.The firm had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.10 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 29.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Equitable's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -36.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EQH has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded Equitable from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Equitable from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Wolfe Research lowered Equitable from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. UBS Group upped their price target on Equitable from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Equitable from $62.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $61.50.

Equitable 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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