Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH Stock Position Raised by Barclays PLC

Key Points

• Barclays PLC increased its stake in Equitable by 25.1% in Q3 to 532,833 shares—about 0.19% of the company—worth roughly $27.1 million.
• The board approved a $1.0 billion share repurchase plan (up to 7.7% of outstanding shares), signaling management believes the stock may be undervalued.
• Analysts hold a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $60.64, compared with a recent trading price near $38, suggesting notable implied upside.

Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) by 25.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 532,833 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 106,967 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned approximately 0.19% of Equitable worth $27,057,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equitable in the third quarter worth about $36,000. Hilltop National Bank purchased a new position in Equitable during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 92.6% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 882 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares in the last quarter. MAI Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 64.0% in the second quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 938 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 366 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its position in shares of Equitable by 11.7% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 2,634 shares of the company's stock worth $134,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the period. 92.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EQH has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings lowered Equitable from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Raymond James Financial set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Equitable in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Equitable from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Equitable from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $60.00 price target on shares of Equitable in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equitable has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $60.64.

Equitable Price Performance

NYSE EQH opened at $38.20 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $44.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $47.51. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.37 and a twelve month high of $56.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.71 billion, a PE ratio of -7.93, a P/E/G ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.12. 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 Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th were paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Equitable's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -22.41%.

Equitable announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 11th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 7.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Equitable news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,790 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 $323,543.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 55,023 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,621,845.95. This represents a 10.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 39,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.20, for a total transaction of $1,834,140.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 652,945 shares in the company, valued at $30,166,059. This represents a 5.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 152,980 shares of company stock valued at $7,252,416. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Equitable Company 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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