FY2026 EPS Estimates for Equitable Lifted by DOWLING & PARTN

Key Points

• DOWLING & PARTN raised FY2026 EPS estimates for Equitable to $7.15 from $7.00, slightly above the consensus estimate of $7.09. The firm also projected FY2027 EPS of $8.80 and FY2028 EPS of $10.40.
• Recent analyst sentiment remains mostly positive, with Equitable carrying a Moderate Buy consensus rating and an average price target of $60.08. However, Wolfe Research downgraded the stock to "peer perform" while several other firms maintained or raised bullish targets.
• Equitable posted stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings of $1.62 EPS on revenue of $4.23 billion, and it recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.30 per share. The stock opened at $47.27 and has traded between $35.19 and $55.24 over the past 52 weeks.

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Free Report) - Equities research analysts at DOWLING & PARTN boosted their FY2026 earnings estimates for Equitable in a research note issued to investors on Monday, July 13th. DOWLING & PARTN analyst J. Hurwitz now expects that the company will post earnings of $7.15 per share for the year, up from their prior forecast of $7.00. The consensus estimate for Equitable's current full-year earnings is $7.09 per share. DOWLING & PARTN also issued estimates for Equitable's FY2027 earnings at $8.80 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $10.40 EPS.

Several other brokerages have also commented on EQH. Raymond James Financial set a $58.00 price target on Equitable and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Equitable from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Equitable from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Equitable from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Wolfe Research cut Equitable from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Equitable has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $60.08.

Equitable Stock Performance

NYSE:EQH opened at $47.27 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $12.90 billion, a PE ratio of -16.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.10. Equitable has a fifty-two week low of $35.19 and a fifty-two week high of $55.24. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $43.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.90. 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 (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The company reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $4.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.95 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.35 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 7.6% on a year-over-year basis.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equitable

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of EQH. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equitable during the second quarter valued at approximately $424,000. Community Trust & Investment Co. grew its holdings in Equitable by 22.8% during the 2nd quarter. Community Trust & Investment Co. now owns 476,885 shares of the company's stock valued at $20,926,000 after purchasing an additional 88,484 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Equitable by 30.8% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 11,919 shares of the company's stock worth $523,000 after buying an additional 2,805 shares during the period. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Equitable by 557.4% in the 2nd quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,545 shares of the company's stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 1,310 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional lifted 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 buying an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.70% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 14,358 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.11, for a total value of $647,689.38. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 74,748 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,371,882.28. This trade represents a 16.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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 firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.48, for a total value of $310,104.00. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 128,503 shares of company stock valued at $5,565,789 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Equitable Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. This is an increase from Equitable's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Equitable's payout ratio is currently -42.25%.

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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