Alyeska Investment Group L.P. Boosts Stock Position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH

Key Points

• Alyeska Investment Group increased its Equitable Holdings stake by 5,578.5% in the second quarter, ending with 1.37 million shares valued at approximately $59.9 million. Institutional investors collectively own 92.7% of EQH.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with EQH receiving a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $61.75. Several firms recently raised their targets to between $64 and $67.
• Equitable reported quarterly earnings of $1.70 per share, exceeding estimates of $1.65, while revenue fell 29.8% year over year to $1.66 billion. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, yielding approximately 2.4% annually.

Alyeska Investment Group L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) by 5,578.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,365,626 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,341,577 shares during the quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. owned approximately 0.50% of Equitable worth $59,924,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Equitable in the second quarter worth approximately $1,136,305,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Equitable by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 17,258,124 shares of the company's stock valued at $822,351,000 after buying an additional 1,132,861 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in Equitable by 23.0% in the 4th 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 during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Equitable in the 4th quarter worth $550,995,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in Equitable in the 2nd quarter worth $399,576,000. 92.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on EQH shares. Zacks Research upgraded Equitable from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Barclays boosted their price target on Equitable from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $66.00 price objective on shares of Equitable in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Equitable from $62.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Equitable from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $61.75.

Equitable Stock Performance

NYSE EQH opened at $50.15 on Monday. The business's 50 day moving average price is $48.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.57. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $35.19 and a fifty-two week high of $55.15. The company has a market cap of $13.69 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.15, a P/E/G ratio of 0.49 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.05. Equitable had a negative net margin of 8.72% and a positive return on equity of 511.35%. The business had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.10 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 29.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Equitable's dividend payout ratio is currently -36.25%.

Insider Activity

In other Equitable news, Director Charles G.T. Stonehill sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.54, for a total value of $386,550.00. Following the sale, the director owned 34,357 shares in the company, valued at $1,770,759.78. This trade represents a 17.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 6,200 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.83, for a total value of $259,346.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 9,366 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $391,779.78. This trade represents a 39.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 114,541 shares of company stock valued at $5,357,784. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Equitable

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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