【treaty oak and pecos】Does The Equitable Group Inc. (TSE:EQB) Share Price Fall With The Market?

Anyone researching Equitable Group Inc. (

TSE:EQB

) might want to consider the historical volatility of the share price. Volatility is treaty oak and pecosconsidered to be a measure of risk in modern finance theory. Investors may think of volatility as falling into two main categories. The first category is company specific volatility. This can be dealt with by limiting your exposure to any particular stock. The other type, which cannot be diversified away, is the volatility of the entire market. Every stock in the market is exposed to this volatility, which is linked to the fact that stocks prices are correlated in an efficient market.

Some stocks see their prices move in concert with the market. Others tend towards stronger, gentler or unrelated price movements. Beta can be a useful tool to understand how much a stock is influenced by market risk (volatility). However, Warren Buffett said 'volatility is far from synonymous with risk' in his 2014 letter to investors. So, while useful, beta is not the only metric to consider. To use beta as an investor, you must first understand that the overall market has a beta of one. A stock with a beta greater than one is more sensitive to broader market movements than a stock with a beta of less than one.

View our latest analysis for Equitable Group

What we can learn from EQB's beta value

Given that it has a beta of 1.42, we can surmise that the Equitable Group share price has been fairly sensitive to market volatility (over the last 5 years). If the past is any guide, we would expect that Equitable Group shares will rise quicker than the markets in times of optimism, but fall faster in times of pessimism. Beta is worth considering, but it's also important to consider whether Equitable Group is growing earnings and revenue. You can take a look for yourself, below.

TSX:EQB Income Statement, February 2nd 2020

How does EQB's size impact its beta?

With a market capitalisation of CA$1.8b, Equitable Group is a small cap stock. However, it is big enough to catch the attention of professional investors. It has a relatively high beta, which is not unusual among small-cap stocks. Because it takes less capital to move the share price of a smaller company, actively traded small-cap stocks often have a higher beta that a similar large-cap stock.

What this means for you:

Since Equitable Group has a reasonably high beta, it's worth considering why it is so heavily influenced by broader market sentiment. For example, it might be a high growth stock or have a lot of operating leverage in its business model. In order to fully understand whether EQB is a good investment for you, we also need to consider important company-specific fundamentals such as Equitable Group’s financial health and performance track record. I urge you to continue your research by taking a look at the following:

Story continues

Future Outlook

: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for EQB’s future growth? Take a look at our

free research report of analyst consensus

for EQB’s outlook.

Past Track Record

: Has EQB been consistently performing well irrespective of the ups and downs in the market? Go into more detail in the past performance analysis and take a look at

the free visual representations of EQB's historicals

for more clarity.

Other Interesting Stocks

: It's worth checking to see how EQB measures up against other companies on valuation. You could start with this

free list of prospective options

.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at

[email protected]

. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading.

View comments

很赞哦!（7）