Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Cut to “Sell” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Equitable (NYSE:EQH) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report released on Sunday.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Equitable from $67.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Equitable from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Equitable in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Equitable from $65.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Equitable to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $64.18.

Equitable Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE:EQH opened at $43.14 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $49.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $51.76. Equitable has a one year low of $41.39 and a one year high of $56.61. The firm has a market cap of $12.36 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.63 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.87, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a current ratio of 0.13.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $1.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.65 billion. Equitable had a negative net margin of 5.80% and a positive return on equity of 107.71%. Equitable’s revenue for the quarter was down 52.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.58 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Equitable will post 7.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 24th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is presently -39.13%.

Insider Activity at Equitable

In related news, CFO Robin M. Raju sold 36,888 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.00, for a total value of $1,991,952.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 140,258 shares in the company, valued at $7,573,932. This trade represents a 20.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,790 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.28, for a total value of $293,871.20. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 68,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,956,370.24. This represents a 9.04% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 139,258 shares of company stock valued at $7,182,777. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equitable

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of EQH. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in Equitable by 72.5% during the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 39,469 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,056,000 after acquiring an additional 16,587 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Equitable by 114.3% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 18,628 shares of the company’s stock worth $970,000 after buying an additional 9,936 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Equitable by 65.3% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 419,903 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,873,000 after buying an additional 165,922 shares in the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP increased its holdings in Equitable by 11.9% in the first quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 4,929 shares of the company’s stock valued at $257,000 after buying an additional 525 shares in the last quarter. Finally, South Dakota Investment Council acquired a new position in shares of Equitable in the first quarter worth about $8,459,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

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.