Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Sets New 52-Week Low – Here’s What Happened

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) shares reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $39.14 and last traded at $39.8650, with a volume of 163109 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.22.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EQH has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group lowered their target price on Equitable from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $60.00 price target on Equitable in a research report on Monday, January 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Equitable from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Equitable in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Mizuho set a $65.00 target price on shares of Equitable in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.27.

Equitable Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $11.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 1.12. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $46.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $48.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.42, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a current ratio of 0.13.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Equitable’s payout ratio is presently -22.41%.

Equitable announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 11th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 7.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Equitable

In other news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,790 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.65, for a total value of $323,543.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 55,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,621,845.95. This represents a 10.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Nick Lane sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.87, for a total transaction of $1,436,100.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 119,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,742,389.46. The trade was a 20.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 157,280 shares of company stock valued at $7,455,677. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equitable

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of EQH. Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Equitable in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in shares of Equitable by 592.6% in the 2nd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 561 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in Equitable by 124.7% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 404 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equitable during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Hilltop National Bank bought a new position in shares of Equitable during the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. 92.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Equitable

Equitable Holdings, Inc (NYSE: EQH) is a leading provider of life insurance, annuities and retirement plan services in the United States. Through its insurance subsidiary, AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company, the firm offers a broad range of permanent and term life insurance products designed to help individuals and families manage risk and build wealth. In addition, Equitable provides fixed, variable and indexed annuity solutions to support income planning in retirement, as well as a suite of group retirement and pension plan services for employers and plan sponsors.

The company also maintains an asset management arm that delivers investment strategies across equities, fixed income and alternative asset classes for both retail and institutional clients.