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

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,760,000 shares, a growth of 7.4% from the September 30th total of 4,430,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,140,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.2 days. Currently, 1.5% of the company's stock are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on EQH. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Equitable from $44.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Equitable from $48.00 to $46.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Equitable from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays increased their price target on Equitable from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Equitable from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equitable has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $48.70.

Equitable Price Performance

Shares of Equitable stock traded down $0.22 on Friday, hitting $45.13. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,434,439 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,475,675. The company has a market capitalization of $14.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.80 and a beta of 1.41. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $42.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.06, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a current ratio of 0.12. Equitable has a 1 year low of $25.42 and a 1 year high of $46.48.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.71 billion. Equitable had a return on equity of 87.49% and a net margin of 7.87%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 47.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.17 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Equitable will post 6.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Equitable

In other Equitable news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.78, for a total value of $1,223,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 668,555 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $27,263,672.90. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Equitable news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.78, for a total value of $1,223,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 668,555 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $27,263,672.90. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 3,500 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.42, for a total transaction of $148,470.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 19,321 shares of the company's stock, valued at $819,596.82. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 93,500 shares of company stock valued at $3,969,870 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equitable

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EQH. Summit Global Investments purchased a new stake in Equitable during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $720,000. Foster & Motley Inc. increased its position in shares of Equitable by 2.2% during the third quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 170,549 shares of the company's stock worth $7,168,000 after purchasing an additional 3,648 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Equitable by 3.7% during the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 84,032 shares of the company's stock worth $3,532,000 after purchasing an additional 3,034 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Equitable by 27.0% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 161,038 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,768,000 after purchasing an additional 34,262 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service lifted its holdings in Equitable by 23,851.6% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 396,399 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,661,000 after purchasing an additional 394,744 shares in the last quarter. 92.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.