Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. Acquires 2,294,902 Shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH

Key Points

• Diamond Hill Capital Management increased its stake in Equitable Holdings by 114.8% in the fourth quarter, buying 2.29 million additional shares and bringing its total position to 4.29 million shares valued at about $204.6 million.
• Equitable reported solid quarterly results, beating EPS estimates and posting revenue above expectations, while the company also authorized a $1 billion share buyback program and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.30 per share.
• Insiders have recently sold shares, including COO Jeffrey J. Hurd and CAO William James Iv Eckert, even as analysts maintain a generally positive view with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.18.

Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) by 114.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,294,644 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,294,902 shares during the quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. owned 1.50% of Equitable worth $204,640,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its holdings in Equitable by 62.6% during the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 12,615 shares of the company's stock worth $601,000 after acquiring an additional 4,855 shares during the last quarter. Algebris UK Ltd. grew its holdings in Equitable by 81.6% during the 4th quarter. Algebris UK Ltd. now owns 1,293,939 shares of the company's stock worth $61,685,000 after acquiring an additional 581,479 shares during the last quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions grew its holdings in Equitable by 154.0% during the 4th quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 13,471 shares of the company's stock worth $642,000 after acquiring an additional 8,167 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its holdings in Equitable by 124.0% during the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 2,912 shares of the company's stock worth $139,000 after acquiring an additional 1,612 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in Equitable by 124.7% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 728 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 404 shares during the last quarter. 92.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equitable

In other Equitable news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 14,358 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.44, for a total transaction of $609,353.52. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 79,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,369,863.32. This represents a 15.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 7,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.48, for a total transaction of $310,104.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 15,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $658,694.88. The trade was a 32.01% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 154,191 shares of company stock worth $6,311,969. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Equitable Stock Up 0.4%

Equitable stock opened at $42.59 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.75. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $35.19 and a 12-month high of $56.61. The firm's fifty day moving average is $39.86 and its 200 day moving average is $43.56. The company has a market capitalization of $11.99 billion, a PE ratio of -14.99, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.13.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The company reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.02. Equitable had a negative net margin of 7.26% and a positive return on equity of 232.29%. The company had revenue of $4.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.95 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.35 EPS. Equitable's quarterly revenue was down 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equitable declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 11th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 7.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Equitable Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. This is a positive change from Equitable's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. Equitable's dividend payout ratio is currently -38.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on EQH shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Equitable from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Equitable from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Raymond James Financial set a $58.00 price target on shares of Equitable and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Evercore set a $63.00 price target on shares of Equitable and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Equitable from $51.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $58.18.

More Equitable News

Here are the key news stories impacting Equitable this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Equitable raised its quarterly dividend 11.1% to $0.30 per share, reinforcing confidence in cash generation and returning more capital to shareholders. Equitable Holdings Increases Common Stock Dividend and Declares Preferred Stock Dividends
• Positive Sentiment: A Zacks item said the dividend hike reflects strong cash flow growth and continued advancement of the Corebridge Financial merger, which could improve long-term earnings power if integration goes well. Equitable Holdings Raises Dividend 11% Amid Strong Cash Flow Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Director Francis Hondal disclosed multiple small open-market stock purchases over time, which may be interpreted as insider confidence in the company’s outlook.
• Neutral Sentiment: A Seeking Alpha article labeled EQH a “Hold,” suggesting some investors still see the stock as more of a steady-value/transition story than a clear breakout name. Equitable Holdings Is A Hold, Expecting Successful Integration With Corebridge After Merger

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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