Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Director Craig Mackay Sells 2,200 Shares

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQHGet Free Report) Director Craig Mackay sold 2,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.37, for a total value of $113,014.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 18,999 shares in the company, valued at $975,978.63. The trade was a 10.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Equitable Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EQH opened at $51.27 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.09. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $35.19 and a 52 week high of $55.24.

Equitable (NYSE:EQHGet Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.05. Equitable had a negative net margin of 8.72% and a positive return on equity of 511.35%. The firm had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.10 earnings per share. Equitable’s quarterly revenue was down 29.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is -36.25%.

Key Stories Impacting Equitable

Here are the key news stories impacting Equitable this week:

  • Positive Sentiment: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised its price target to $67 from $62 and maintained an “outperform” rating. The new target implies substantial upside and reinforces favorable sell-side sentiment toward EQH. Benzinga
  • Positive Sentiment: Buybacks, capital returns and the Corebridge merger support the longer-term investment case. An analysis cited approximately $1.8 billion in expected 2026 cash generation, at least $4.30 per share in capital returns and buybacks that could reduce the share count by about 8%. The merger is projected to generate roughly $550 million in cost synergies and approximately 10% EPS accretion by 2027. Equitable Holdings: Buybacks And Credit Resilience Make Shares Attractive
  • Positive Sentiment: Recent quarterly earnings exceeded expectations. EQH reported $1.70 in earnings per share versus a $1.65 consensus estimate, up from $1.10 a year earlier. However, the earnings beat was accompanied by a sharp revenue decline.
  • Neutral Sentiment: Investors are awaiting further detail from the second-quarter earnings discussion. Coverage focused on merger momentum, organic growth, strategic divestitures and analyst questions from the earnings call, all of which may shape expectations for future growth. EQH Q2 Deep Dive
  • Negative Sentiment: Multiple insiders sold shares. Director Craig C. Mackay sold 2,200 shares, while directors Bertram Scott and Charles Stonehill sold 1,466 and 7,500 shares, respectively. Chief Accounting Officer William Eckert also sold 947 shares. Recent data shows 34 insider sales and no insider purchases over six months, which may weigh on investor confidence. EQH Insider Trading Activity
  • Negative Sentiment: Revenue remains a concern. Quarterly revenue fell 29.8% year over year to $1.66 billion, well below the $3.84 billion analyst estimate, potentially limiting the impact of the earnings beat.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equitable

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 92.6% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 882 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Equitable in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,712,000. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL acquired a new stake in Equitable in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,133,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its position in Equitable by 1,126.5% in the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 291,126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,332,000 after purchasing an additional 267,389 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in Equitable by 45.8% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 626,017 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,120,000 after purchasing an additional 196,729 shares in the last quarter. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on EQH shares. Wolfe Research lowered Equitable from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Raymond James Financial set a $58.00 price target on Equitable and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Zacks Research raised shares of Equitable from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Equitable from $62.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Equitable from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equitable currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.17.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Equitable

Equitable Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

Insider Buying and Selling by Quarter for Equitable (NYSE:EQH)

Receive News & Ratings for Equitable Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Equitable and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.