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

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,770,000 shares, an increase of 25.4% from the February 28th total of 4,600,000 shares. Currently, 1.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 2,960,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.9 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on EQH shares. UBS Group raised shares of Equitable from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $49.00 to $77.00 in a report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Equitable from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Equitable from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Equitable from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Equitable from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $60.75.

Equitable Trading Down 10.4 %

Shares of Equitable stock traded down $5.21 on Friday, hitting $45.00. 7,305,970 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,585,327. The company has a market capitalization of $13.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.78 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a fifty day moving average of $52.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $48.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07, a current ratio of 0.07 and a quick ratio of 0.12. Equitable has a one year low of $35.49 and a one year high of $56.00.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.65 by ($0.08). Equitable had a return on equity of 85.70% and a net margin of 10.51%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Equitable will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. Equitable's payout ratio is 25.13%.

Insider Activity

In other Equitable news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.65, for a total value of $1,549,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 629,939 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,536,349.35. This trade represents a 4.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Nick Lane sold 25,000 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.65, for a total value of $1,291,250.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 121,629 shares in the company, valued at $6,282,137.85. The trade was a 17.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 103,332 shares of company stock worth $5,364,610. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equitable

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EQH. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of 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 during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in Equitable by 111.2% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 678 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 357 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Equitable by 33.2% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 799 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Bank Ltd. raised its position in shares of Equitable by 61.4% during the fourth quarter. Mizuho Bank Ltd. now owns 1,130 shares of the company's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 430 shares during the period. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 154.3% in the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,386 shares of the company's stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 841 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.70% of the company's stock.

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.