Hsbc Holdings PLC Buys New Stake in Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH

Key Points

• HSBC Holdings acquired 465,374 shares of Equitable Holdings in the second quarter, valued at approximately $20.4 million and representing a 0.17% stake. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 92.70% of EQH.
• Equitable reported quarterly earnings of $1.70 per share, exceeding the $1.65 consensus estimate, although revenue fell 29.8% year over year to $1.66 billion. The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, representing a 2.4% annualized yield.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $61.75 versus the reported share price of $50.01. However, company insiders sold 114,541 shares worth approximately $5.36 million during the latest quarter.

Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 465,374 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,377,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned 0.17% of Equitable at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EQH. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its stake in shares of Equitable by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,726 shares of the company's stock worth $130,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equitable by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,999 shares of the company's stock valued at $143,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its position in Equitable by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 2,634 shares of the company's stock worth $134,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG boosted its holdings in Equitable by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 19,109 shares of the company's stock worth $708,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares during the period. Finally, CX Institutional boosted its holdings in Equitable by 30.2% in the 2nd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,282 shares of the company's stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares during the period. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 1,466 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.15, for a total value of $74,985.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 26,465 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,353,684.75. The trade was a 5.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 39,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.54, for a total value of $1,927,038.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 753,403 shares in the company, valued at $36,570,181.62. The trade was a 5.01% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 114,541 shares of company stock worth $5,357,784. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Equitable Stock Performance

Shares of EQH opened at $50.01 on Friday. The business's 50 day moving average is $48.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.54. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $35.19 and a 52-week high of $55.15. The firm has a market cap of $13.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.11, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.75.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.84 billion. Equitable had a negative net margin of 8.72% and a positive return on equity of 511.35%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 29.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.10 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on EQH shares. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $66.00 price objective on shares of Equitable in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Equitable from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Equitable from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Equitable from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Equitable from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. 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 MarketBeat, Equitable has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $61.75.

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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