Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Reaches New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $53.00 to $61.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Equitable traded as high as $56.00 and last traded at $55.77, with a volume of 2218180 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $55.52.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Equitable from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Equitable in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Equitable from $45.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays raised their price target on Equitable from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on Equitable from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equitable presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $56.58.

Insider Activity at Equitable

In other Equitable news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,666 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.31, for a total transaction of $315,368.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 98,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,677,776.25. The trade was a 6.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.31, for a total value of $1,419,300.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 639,939 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,275,514.09. This trade represents a 4.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 131,698 shares of company stock valued at $6,534,234. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equitable

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EQH. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Equitable by 195.6% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 532 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in Equitable by 61.5% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 646 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in Equitable by 111.2% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 678 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Equitable by 33.2% in 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. Finally, Mizuho Bank Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Equitable by 61.4% in the fourth quarter. Mizuho Bank Ltd. now owns 1,130 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 430 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Equitable Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $16.12 billion, a PE ratio of 13.46 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $50.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.25. 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 (NYSE:EQH) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 85.70% and a net margin of 10.51%. Analysts expect that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

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

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.