Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Truist Financial Analyst Says

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) had its price target raised by Truist Financial from $52.00 to $60.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. Truist Financial currently has a buy rating on the stock.

EQH has been the topic of several other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Equitable from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Equitable from $45.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays boosted their price target on Equitable from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Equitable from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $54.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $47.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Equitable currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $54.67.

Equitable Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EQH opened at $53.66 on Monday. Equitable has a 1-year low of $32.72 and a 1-year high of $54.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.81 billion, a PE ratio of 14.05 and a beta of 1.39. The business’s 50 day moving average is $49.88 and its 200-day moving average is $45.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($0.08). Equitable had a net margin of 10.51% and a return on equity of 85.70%. Sell-side analysts predict that Equitable will post 7.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.79%. Equitable’s payout ratio is currently 25.13%.

Insider Transactions at Equitable

In related news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.65, for a total transaction of $1,549,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 629,939 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,536,349.35. The trade was a 4.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Nick Lane sold 25,000 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.84, for a total value of $1,146,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 141,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,492,273.36. This trade represents a 15.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 155,032 shares of company stock worth $7,587,971 over the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equitable

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EQH. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Equitable by 195.6% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of Equitable by 61.5% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 646 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in shares of Equitable by 33.2% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 799 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the period. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equitable during the third quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of Equitable by 86.3% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 718 shares during the period. 92.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equitable Company Profile

Equitable Holdings, Inc, together with its consolidated subsidiaries, operates as a diversified financial services company worldwide. The company operates through six segments: Individual Retirement, Group Retirement, Investment Management and Research, Protection Solutions, Wealth Management, and Legacy.