Head to Head Contrast: Equitable (EQH) versus Its Rivals

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) is one of 340 publicly-traded companies in the “Financial Services” industry, but how does it compare to its peers? We will compare Equitable to similar businesses based on the strength of its profitability, risk, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

92.7% of Equitable shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 43.2% of shares of all “Financial Services” companies are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of Equitable shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 22.0% of shares of all “Financial Services” companies are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Equitable and its peers top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Equitable	$11.66 billion	-$1.38 billion	10.67
Equitable Competitors	$6.46 billion	$1.09 billion	9.73

Equitable has higher revenue, but lower earnings than its peers. Equitable is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Profitability

This table compares Equitable and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Equitable	11.53%	-3,089.96%	0.64%
Equitable Competitors	-338.57%	-39.92%	-5.61%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Equitable and its peers, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Equitable	0	3	11	1	2.87
Equitable Competitors	1986	6961	11745	446	2.50

Equitable currently has a consensus price target of $63.33, suggesting a potential upside of 13.93%. As a group, “Financial Services” companies have a potential downside of 8.35%. Given Equitable’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Equitable is more favorable than its peers.

Dividends

Equitable pays an annual dividend of $1.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. Equitable pays out 23.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Financial Services” companies pay a dividend yield of 4.2% and pay out -91.5% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Equitable has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years. Equitable lags its peers as a dividend stock, given its lower dividend yield and higher payout ratio.

Risk and Volatility

Equitable has a beta of 1.06, suggesting that its share price is 6% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Equitable’s peers have a beta of 2.51, suggesting that their average share price is 151% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Equitable beats its peers on 9 of the 15 factors compared.

Equitable Company Profile

Equitable Holdings, Inc. is a financial services company focused on retirement, protection and wealth management. Through its Equitable business, it offers products and services including life insurance, annuities, employee benefits and retirement planning solutions to individuals, employers and institutions. The company also has a majority ownership interest in AllianceBernstein, an investment management and research firm that serves institutional and individual clients. AllianceBernstein operates internationally, while Equitable’s insurance and retirement businesses primarily serve customers in the United States.