Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Posts Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.08 EPS

Equitable (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report) announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($0.08), Zacks reports. Equitable had a return on equity of 85.70% and a net margin of 10.51%.

Equitable Price Performance

NYSE EQH traded up $1.44 during trading on Friday, reaching $53.70. 3,372,394 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,889,528. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a current ratio of 0.07. The company has a market cap of $16.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.06 and a beta of 1.39. Equitable has a 1-year low of $32.72 and a 1-year high of $54.82. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $49.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.43.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.79%. Equitable's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on EQH shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Equitable from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $47.00 to $58.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Equitable in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $70.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Equitable from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Equitable from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $54.00 to $58.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Equitable from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $53.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equitable

In other Equitable news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,666 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.31, for a total transaction of $315,368.46. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 98,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,677,776.25. This represents a 6.32 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nick Lane sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.84, for a total value of $1,146,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 141,629 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,492,273.36. This trade represents a 15.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 155,032 shares of company stock worth $7,587,971 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.10% 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.