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

Shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading 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.

EQH has been the topic of several other reports. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Equitable in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Equitable from $45.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Equitable from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley 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 Friday, February 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $56.58.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Equitable news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,666 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 104,298 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,776,023.24. The trade was a 6.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 1,700 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.68, for a total transaction of $79,356.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 17,677 shares in the company, valued at $825,162.36. The trade was a 8.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 131,698 shares of company stock worth $6,534,234 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equitable

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EQH. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Equitable by 195.6% in the 4th 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 grew its position in shares of Equitable by 61.5% in the 3rd 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. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Equitable by 111.2% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 678 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 357 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in shares of Equitable by 33.2% in the 4th 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. Finally, Mizuho Bank Ltd. grew its position in shares of Equitable by 61.4% in the 4th quarter. Mizuho Bank Ltd. now owns 1,130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 430 shares during the period. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equitable Trading Down 3.1 %

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $50.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.15. The company has a market cap of $16.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.12 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a current ratio of 0.07.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by ($0.08). Equitable had a net margin of 10.51% and a return on equity of 85.70%. As a group, analysts expect that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. Equitable’s payout ratio is 25.13%.

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.