Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH Position Boosted by Callodine Capital Management LP

Key Points

• Callodine Capital increased its stake in Equitable by 40.9% in Q3 to 1,042,693 shares (about $52.95M), making EQH the fund’s fifth-largest position and representing roughly 0.36% of the company.
• Equitable’s board approved a $1.00 billion share buyback (up to 7.7% of outstanding shares) and the company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share (annualized $1.08, ~2.9% yield).
• Insiders sold a total of 152,980 shares (~$7.25M) last quarter, while analysts hold a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating with an average price target of $60.64.

Callodine Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) by 40.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,042,693 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 302,850 shares during the quarter. Equitable accounts for about 4.6% of Callodine Capital Management LP's holdings, making the stock its 5th largest position. Callodine Capital Management LP owned about 0.36% of Equitable worth $52,948,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Equitable during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equitable during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Hilltop National Bank purchased a new position in shares of Equitable in the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Equitable by 92.6% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 882 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 424 shares during the period. Finally, MAI Capital Management grew its position in Equitable by 64.0% during the second quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 938 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 366 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.70% of the company's stock.

Equitable Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EQH opened at $37.18 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.42, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a current ratio of 0.13. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $36.79 and a fifty-two week high of $56.61. The stock has a market cap of $10.42 billion, a PE ratio of -7.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 1.12. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $44.14 and a 200-day moving average of $47.33.

Equitable declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Equitable's payout ratio is presently -22.41%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Nick Lane sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.65, for a total value of $1,429,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 99,958 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,762,998.70. This represents a 23.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 39,700 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.20, for a total value of $1,834,140.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 652,945 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,166,059. This trade represents a 5.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 152,980 shares of company stock valued at $7,252,416 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on EQH shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Equitable from $59.00 to $54.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Zacks Research lowered shares of Equitable from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Equitable from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Raymond James Financial set a $60.00 price objective on Equitable in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Mizuho set a $65.00 price objective on Equitable in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $60.64.

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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