Equitable Holdings, Inc. Is A Cheap Market-Beater

Plus Inflation-Beating Dividend Growth!

May 23, 2025

From underwriting James A. Garfield’s life insurance policy in 1881 to insuring secret agents working for the Office of Strategic Services during World War Two, Equitable Holdings has had a rich and storied history.

This is a company dating back to 1859. Although, due to a corporate merger - and subsequent spin-off - Equitable Holdings only returned to being a freestanding, publicly traded company in 2018. Good news for investors, because this is a cheap stock with market-beating performance and inflation-beating dividend growth.

Equitable Holdings operates six different segments: Individual Retirement, Group Retirement, Asset Management, Protection Solutions, Wealth Management, and Legacy.

If you’re wondering what “Legacy” means, it’s the company’s old life insurance segment.

Almost everything else that Equitable Holdings does is related to finance. And to quote Brian Tracy, "If you want to make money sell money." Operating in the financial services sector has allowed Equitable Holdings to perform remarkably well.

Here’s a breakdown of the company’s key metrics…

Equitable Holdings, Inc. ($EQH)

Equitable Holdings is a financial services company valued at approximately $16 billion. The stock trades at a low valuation with a price to earnings ratio of just 7.93. And, the company has consistently raised its dividend at a rate that outpaces inflation, including a recent 12.5% dividend hike that was announced earlier this week.

On top of this, Equitable Holdings has consistently beaten the market, delivering a 7-year average annual total return of 16.29%.

  • Forward PE ratio of 7.93

  • 2.08% starting dividend yield

  • 5-year dividend CAGR of 9.86%

  • Payout ratio of 16.47%

  • 7-year average annual total return of 16.29%

While the 2.08% starting dividend yield may not seem particularly appealing for some investors, keep in mind that if Equitable Holdings maintains its current compound annual dividend growth rate, current shareholders would be enjoying a 4%+ yield on cost within about seven years.

This high rate of dividend growth, coupled with the stock’s overall market-beating performance and single-digit valuation, make Equitable Holdings a company I am very interested in owning.

Both the insurance and financial sector are filled with market-beating stocks that trade at valuations lower than the S&P 500.

However, Equitable Holdings is one of the cheaper entries among this group. The company currently trades at a single-digit PE ratio while delivering a 16.29% average annual total return and a compound annual dividend growth rate of 9.86%.

In a rocky market where many companies are still trading at high valuations, this could be an interesting long-term buy.

Disclaimer: This article is for entertainment purposes only. It is not financial advice, always do your own research.