Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) Short Interest Up 19.4% in March

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 8,019,332 shares, a growth of 19.4% from the February 26th total of 6,717,404 shares. Currently, 2.9% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 3,356,320 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.4 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on EQH. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $60.00 price target on Equitable in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods began coverage on shares of Equitable in a report on Thursday, March 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $53.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Research lowered shares of Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Equitable from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Equitable from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equitable presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.55.

Insider Activity at Equitable

In other Equitable news, insider Nick Lane sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.65, for a total value of $1,429,500.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 99,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,762,998.70. This trade represents a 23.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 39,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.20, for a total transaction of $1,834,140.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 652,945 shares in the company, valued at $30,166,059. The trade was a 5.73% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 76,490 shares of company stock worth $3,587,184 in the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Truist Financial Corp increased its holdings in Equitable by 180.7% during the third quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 32,820 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,667,000 after buying an additional 21,127 shares during the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Equitable by 26.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 241,175 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,616,000 after acquiring an additional 50,455 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new stake in shares of Equitable during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,684,000. Korea Investment CORP increased its stake in shares of Equitable by 24.9% in the 3rd quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 299,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,203,000 after purchasing an additional 59,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its stake in shares of Equitable by 43.1% in the 3rd quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 149,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,580,000 after purchasing an additional 44,978 shares in the last quarter. 92.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equitable Stock Up 4.0%

Equitable stock traded up $1.41 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $37.06. The company had a trading volume of 7,122,959 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,975,650. Equitable has a 12 month low of $35.19 and a 12 month high of $56.61. The company has a market capitalization of $10.39 billion, a PE ratio of -7.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 1.12. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $41.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.42.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th were paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Equitable’s payout ratio is currently -22.41%.

Equitable declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 11th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 7.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Equitable Company 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.