Key Points
- COO Jeffrey Hurd sold 14,358 shares of Equitable (NYSE:EQH) on April 15 at an average price of $40.58 for about $582,648, reducing his stake to 84,403 shares (a 14.54% drop); the trade was executed under a pre‑arranged Rule 10b5‑1 plan.
- The board has authorized a $1.00 billion share repurchase program (up to ~7.7% of outstanding shares), a move that typically signals management believes the stock is undervalued.
- Despite a consensus "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of ~$56.91, Equitable faces technical and fundamental headwinds—negative earnings (negative P/E), high debt‑to‑equity (16.42), and the 50‑day moving average below the 200‑day—while paying a $0.27 quarterly dividend (≈2.6% yield).
Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH - Get Free Report) CEO Mark Pearson sold 1,387 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.03, for a total transaction of $55,521.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 801,683 shares of the company's stock, valued at $32,091,370.49. The trade was a 0.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.
Mark Pearson also recently made the following trade(s):
- On Wednesday, April 8th, Mark Pearson sold 38,313 shares of Equitable stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.05, for a total transaction of $1,534,435.65.
- On Tuesday, January 20th, Mark Pearson sold 39,700 shares of Equitable stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.20, for a total transaction of $1,834,140.00.
Equitable Price Performance
Equitable stock opened at $41.68 on Friday. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $35.19 and a 12-month high of $56.61. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $39.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $44.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.69 billion, a PE ratio of -8.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.42.
Equitable announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 7.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.
Equitable Announces Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 4th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. Equitable's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -22.41%.
Key Equitable News
Here are the key news stories impacting Equitable this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Raymond James upgraded EQH from "market perform" to "strong-buy" with a $58 price target (implying ~39% upside from current levels), which is a clear bullish catalyst for investors. Raymond James Upgrade
- Positive Sentiment: Management and counterpart Corebridge have discussed potential share buybacks ahead of the pending Corebridge–Equitable transaction; buyback talk typically supports the share price by reducing float and signaling confidence in valuation. Buybacks & Merger Discussion
- Neutral Sentiment: Insider sales disclosed (all executed under pre-arranged Rule 10b5‑1 plans): COO Jeffrey Hurd sold 14,358 shares (~$40.58 avg), Nick Lane sold 10,000 shares (~$40.44 avg), and CEO Mark Pearson sold 1,387 shares (~$40.03 avg). Because these were planned 10b5‑1 trades the market impact is muted, but such filings can still raise short-term selling pressure. Filing links: Hurd SEC Filing Lane SEC Filing Pearson SEC Filing
- Negative Sentiment: Technical and fundamental headwinds: the 50‑day moving average (~$40.06) sits below the 200‑day (~$44.79) and key metrics show negative earnings (negative P/E) and high reported leverage; these factors can limit upside and contribute to continued selling pressure despite positive headlines.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equitable
Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Equitable in the third quarter worth $26,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in Equitable by 124.7% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 728 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equitable during the third quarter valued at $36,000. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new position in shares of Equitable during the third quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Equitable during the third quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.70% of the company's stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several research firms have recently commented on EQH. Raymond James Financial set a $58.00 price target on shares of Equitable and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Equitable from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Equitable from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Equitable from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Equitable from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $56.91.
Check Out Our Latest Report on Equitable
About Equitable
(
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.
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