Equitable Holdings Hikes Dividend by 12.5%, But Yield Trails Industry

Equitable Holdings, Inc. EQH recently announced that its board of directors approved an increase in quarterly dividends, consistent with its previously disclosed plan. The company will now pay out 27 cents per share, marking a 12.5% increase from the previous amount.

The new dividend will be paid out on June 9, 2025, to stockholders of record as of June 2. Based on the increased rate, the annual dividend amounts to $1.08 per share. The dividend yield, calculated based on the new payout and the closing price on May 21, is 2.1%, which is still lower than the industry average of 2.5%.

Moreover, EQH announced dividends on its preferred stock, including a $328.13 per share quarterly dividend on Series A 5.25% Non-Cumulative Perpetual Preferred Stock, a $618.75 semi-annual dividend on Series B 4.95% Non-Cumulative Perpetual Preferred Stock and a $268.75 per share quarterly dividend on Series C 4.30% Non-Cumulative Perpetual Preferred Stock.

Regarding its financial position, Equitable Holdings exited the first quarter of 2025 with total investments and cash and cash equivalents of almost $127.1 billion, while long-term debt was only $4.3 billion. The company is also improving its cash-generating ability. More than half of its cash flow comes from non-insurance business, providing diversification benefits. In the first quarter of 2025, it came up with $158 million in operating cash flow, improving from $31 million a year ago.

The company's Group Retirement business is expected to benefit from higher fee-based revenues. Its pre-tax earnings of $153 million jumped 5.5% in the first quarter. This positive momentum is likely to support EQH’s capital-deployment initiatives. It has a 60-70% payout ratio target of non-GAAP operating earnings. In the March quarter of 2025, Equitable Holdings paid out $74 million of cash dividends and repurchased $261 million worth of shares.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its 2025 bottom line is pegged at $6.63 per share, which suggests an 11.8% year-over-year increase. The same for 2026 implies a 22.2% jump from the year-ago level. In the last four quarters, EQH’s earnings beat estimates twice and missed on the other occasions, with an average surprise of negative 2.3%.

Equitable Holdings, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

Equitable Holdings, Inc. price-eps-surprise | Equitable Holdings, Inc. Quote

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

Equitable Holdings currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Investors interested in the broader Finance space can look at some better-ranked stocks like MGIC Investment MTG, Kemper KMPR and Prudential plc PUK. While MGIC Investment currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Kemper and Prudential carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) each. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The consensus mark for MGIC Investment’s 2025 earnings witnessed one upward estimate revision in the past month against no downward movement. It beat earnings estimates in each of the past four quarters, with an average surprise of 15.9%. Furthermore, the consensus estimate for MGIC Investment’s 2025 revenues implies 2.9% year-over-year growth.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Kemper’s 2025 full-year earnings indicates 6.5% year-over-year growth. It beat earnings estimates in each of the past four quarters, with an average surprise of 21.1%. Also, the consensus mark for Kemper’s 2025 revenues implies 7.5% year-over-year growth.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Prudential’s current year earnings is pegged at $2.07 per share, indicating 15.6% year-over-year growth. Also, the consensus mark for Prudential’s next year earnings implies a further 16.6% jump.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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