Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. Purchases 2,294,902 Shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. $EQH

Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) by 114.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 4,294,644 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,294,902 shares during the quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Equitable were worth $204,640,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Equitable in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of Equitable by 124.7% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 728 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equitable in the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Equitable in the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equitable

In other Equitable news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 14,358 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.44, for a total transaction of $609,353.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 79,403 shares in the company, valued at $3,369,863.32. This trade represents a 15.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 39,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.63, for a total transaction of $1,652,711.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 789,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,853,688.29. This represents a 4.79% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 154,191 shares of company stock worth $6,311,969 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on EQH. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Equitable from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Equitable from $66.00 to $58.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Equitable from $51.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Equitable from $59.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.18.

Equitable Price Performance

EQH opened at $42.59 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $11.99 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.99, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.13. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $39.86 and a 200 day moving average of $43.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.75, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $35.19 and a fifty-two week high of $56.61.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $4.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.95 billion. Equitable had a negative net margin of 7.26% and a positive return on equity of 232.29%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.35 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.11 EPS for the current year.

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

Equitable Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This is a boost from Equitable’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -38.03%.

More Equitable News

Here are the key news stories impacting Equitable this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Equitable raised its quarterly dividend 11.1% to $0.30 per share, reinforcing confidence in cash generation and returning more capital to shareholders. Equitable Holdings Increases Common Stock Dividend and Declares Preferred Stock Dividends
• Positive Sentiment: A Zacks item said the dividend hike reflects strong cash flow growth and continued advancement of the Corebridge Financial merger, which could improve long-term earnings power if integration goes well. Equitable Holdings Raises Dividend 11% Amid Strong Cash Flow Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Director Francis Hondal disclosed multiple small open-market stock purchases over time, which may be interpreted as insider confidence in the company’s outlook.
• Neutral Sentiment: A Seeking Alpha article labeled EQH a “Hold,” suggesting some investors still see the stock as more of a steady-value/transition story than a clear breakout name. Equitable Holdings Is A Hold, Expecting Successful Integration With Corebridge After Merger

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.