Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) Short Interest Update

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,370,000 shares, an increase of 26.1% from the May 31st total of 4,260,000 shares. Currently, 1.7% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 2,610,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.1 days.

Equitable Price Performance

EQH opened at $40.82 on Tuesday. Equitable has a 1 year low of $24.65 and a 1 year high of $41.95. The company has a market capitalization of $13.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.64 and a beta of 1.43. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $39.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.42.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $2.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.59 billion. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.96 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Equitable will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Equitable Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 3rd were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 3rd. This is a positive change from Equitable’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.35%. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Equitable from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. UBS Group lowered Equitable from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $40.00 to $43.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Equitable from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Equitable from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Equitable from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $41.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Seth P. Bernstein sold 152,473 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.06, for a total transaction of $5,803,122.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 88,660 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,374,399.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 9,969 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.62, for a total transaction of $394,971.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 121,521 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,814,662.02. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Seth P. Bernstein sold 152,473 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.06, for a total transaction of $5,803,122.38. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 88,660 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,374,399.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 202,411 shares of company stock valued at $7,646,571. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Equitable

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of EQH. iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Equitable by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,132 shares of the company’s stock valued at $233,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Equitable by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 88,548 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,949,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares during the period. TCW Group Inc. raised its position in 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 during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Equitable by 26.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,939 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE grew its position in shares of Equitable by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 10,068 shares of the company’s stock valued at $383,000 after acquiring an additional 423 shares during the period. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Equitable

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.