Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Price Target Raised to $61.00

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) had its price objective lifted by Wells Fargo & Company from $53.00 to $61.00 in a research report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on EQH. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $47.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Equitable from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Equitable from $45.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays increased their target price on Equitable from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Equitable in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $56.58.

Equitable Price Performance

Shares of EQH stock opened at $51.44 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07. Equitable has a twelve month low of $32.96 and a twelve month high of $56.00. The company has a market cap of $16.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.46 and a beta of 1.39. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $50.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.25.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($0.08). Equitable had a return on equity of 85.70% and a net margin of 10.51%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Equitable will post 7.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. Equitable’s payout ratio is 25.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Equitable news, insider Nick Lane sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,666 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.38, for a total value of $369,163.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 104,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,776,023.24. This trade represents a 6.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 131,698 shares of company stock valued at $6,534,234 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equitable

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in Equitable by 33.2% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 799 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the period. Atomi Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Equitable by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,577 shares of the company’s stock valued at $310,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in Equitable by 61.5% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 646 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 9,554 shares of the company’s stock valued at $451,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,768 shares of the company’s stock valued at $131,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

About Equitable

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.