Short Interest in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) Grows By 19.4%

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,810,000 shares, an increase of 19.4% from the July 31st total of 4,030,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,520,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.9 days. Approximately 1.5% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 9,969 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 121,521 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,814,662.02. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.20, for a total transaction of $1,266,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 678,555 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,635,021. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 9,969 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.62, for a total value of $394,971.78. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 121,521 shares in the company, valued at $4,814,662.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 49,938 shares of company stock worth $2,090,536. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Equitable

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of EQH. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Equitable by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,012,452 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,265,815,000 after acquiring an additional 446,752 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in Equitable by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 18,804,685 shares of the company’s stock valued at $714,766,000 after acquiring an additional 637,916 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Equitable in the 4th quarter valued at about $606,630,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in Equitable by 1,161.7% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 7,849,706 shares of the company’s stock worth $262,692,000 after acquiring an additional 7,227,568 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in Equitable by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,232,821 shares of the company’s stock valued at $207,553,000 after acquiring an additional 18,475 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Equitable Stock Up 1.1 %

EQH stock opened at $42.52 on Friday. Equitable has a 52 week low of $24.65 and a 52 week high of $44.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.83 billion, a PE ratio of 13.16 and a beta of 1.43. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $41.02 and a 200 day moving average of $38.79.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.71 billion. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 47.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.17 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Equitable will post 6.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 6th were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 6th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. Equitable’s payout ratio is 29.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EQH has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Equitable from $41.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Equitable from $48.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Equitable from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Equitable from $36.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Equitable from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.09.

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.