Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Earns Outperform Rating from Analysts at BMO Capital Markets

BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Equitable (NYSE:EQH) in a report issued on Thursday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The firm set an “outperform” rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price objective would indicate a potential upside of 31.65% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on EQH. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Equitable from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised 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. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Equitable from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $47.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Equitable from $45.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $53.67.

Equitable Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EQH opened at $53.17 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $48.10 and a 200 day moving average of $44.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63. Equitable has a twelve month low of $31.76 and a twelve month high of $53.28. The firm has a market cap of $16.66 billion, a P/E ratio of -48.78 and a beta of 1.39.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.53. The firm had revenue of $3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.78 billion. Equitable had a negative net margin of 2.64% and a positive return on equity of 76.47%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.15 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Equitable will post 6.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Equitable

In other Equitable news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,666 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.53, for a total value of $316,834.98. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 105,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,002,342.38. This trade represents a 5.96 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.31, for a total transaction of $1,419,300.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 639,939 shares in the company, valued at $30,275,514.09. The trade was a 4.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 161,698 shares of company stock valued at $7,904,806. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equitable

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Smith Group Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Equitable in the fourth quarter valued at $305,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Equitable in the 4th quarter valued at about $308,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Equitable by 94.0% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 90,485 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,268,000 after buying an additional 43,837 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Equitable by 37.5% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 10,931 shares of the company’s stock worth $516,000 after buying an additional 2,983 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH increased its position in Equitable by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 236,247 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,106,000 after buying an additional 23,250 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

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.