Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Stock Rating Upgraded by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) was upgraded by equities researchers at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report issued on Monday, MarketBeat reports. The firm presently has a $58.00 price objective on the stock, up from their prior price objective of $54.00. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price target would indicate a potential upside of 25.05% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Equitable from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Equitable from $48.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Equitable from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.10.

Equitable Stock Performance

Shares of EQH opened at $46.38 on Monday. Equitable has a one year low of $31.76 and a one year high of $50.51. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.53 billion, a PE ratio of -42.55 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 0.12 and a quick ratio of 0.12.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53. Equitable had a negative net margin of 2.64% and a positive return on equity of 76.47%. The business had revenue of $3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.78 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.15 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Equitable will post 6.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Equitable news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,666 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.53, for a total value of $316,834.98. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 105,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,002,342.38. The trade was a 5.96 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.43, for a total transaction of $1,422,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 648,555 shares in the company, valued at $30,760,963.65. This represents a 4.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 100,166 shares of company stock valued at $4,443,605. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of EQH. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Equitable by 61.5% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 646 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Equitable by 892.9% during the 2nd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 1,112 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Equitable during the 3rd quarter valued at $48,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of Equitable by 86.3% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 718 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its stake in shares of Equitable by 623.5% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,000 after buying an additional 2,039 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.