Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) was the target of a large decline in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,240,000 shares, a decline of 7.8% from the December 15th total of 4,600,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,450,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.7 days. Approximately 1.4% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Equitable Stock Performance

Shares of EQH stock traded up $0.16 during trading on Friday, reaching $51.70. 1,567,195 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,062,002. The company has a quick ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.20 billion, a PE ratio of -47.43 and a beta of 1.39. Equitable has a twelve month low of $31.76 and a twelve month high of $52.04. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $47.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.17.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53. The business had revenue of $3.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.78 billion. Equitable had a positive return on equity of 76.47% and a negative net margin of 2.64%. The firm’s revenue was down 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.15 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Equitable will post 6.04 EPS for the current year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 26th. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is -88.07%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on EQH shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Equitable from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $54.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Equitable from $45.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $47.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Equitable from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Equitable from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equitable currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $52.18.

Insider Activity at Equitable

In related news, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 1,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.68, for a total value of $79,356.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 17,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $825,162.36. The trade was a 8.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,666 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.53, for a total value of $316,834.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 105,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,002,342.38. This represents a 5.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 161,698 shares of company stock worth $7,904,806. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Atomi Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Equitable by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,577 shares of the company’s stock valued at $310,000 after buying an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in Equitable by 61.5% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 646 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Equitable by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 6,852 shares of the company’s stock valued at $288,000 after buying an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Equitable by 195.6% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Equitable by 26.1% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,954 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,000 after buying an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. 92.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.