Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Sets New 1-Year High on Earnings Beat

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $38.95 and last traded at $38.88, with a volume of 3104601 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $36.91.

The company reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $2.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.96 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. Equitable's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on EQH shares. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Equitable from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Equitable from $34.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Equitable from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Equitable from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Equitable from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $39.67.

Insider Transactions at Equitable

In related news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.66, for a total transaction of $1,129,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 695,025 shares in the company, valued at $26,174,641.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.66, for a total value of $1,129,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 695,025 shares in the company, valued at $26,174,641.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles G.T. Stonehill sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.02, for a total value of $170,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 29,758 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,012,367.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 241,907 shares of company stock valued at $8,338,649 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equitable

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Equitable by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 88,548 shares of the company's stock worth $2,949,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. TCW Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Equitable by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 71,986 shares of the company's stock worth $2,397,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Equitable by 26.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,939 shares of the company's stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its stake in Equitable by 1.5% in the third quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 27,566 shares of the company's stock valued at $783,000 after buying an additional 418 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 23.6% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,647 shares of the company's stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 506 shares during the period. 92.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Equitable Stock Up 4.7 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $12.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.01 and a beta of 1.42. The business's fifty day moving average is $36.02 and its 200 day moving average is $32.82.

Equitable Company Profile

Equitable Holdings, Inc, together with its consolidated subsidiaries, operates as a diversified financial services company worldwide. The company operates through six segments: Individual Retirement, Group Retirement, Investment Management and Research, Protection Solutions, Wealth Management, and Legacy.