Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Price Target Raised to $53.00

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) had its target price hoisted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $45.00 to $53.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Equitable from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Equitable from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Equitable from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $54.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.00.

Equitable Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EQH opened at $49.05 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $15.37 billion, a P/E ratio of -45.00 and a beta of 1.38. Equitable has a 52-week low of $31.76 and a 52-week high of $50.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a current ratio of 0.12. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $47.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.78.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.53. Equitable had a positive return on equity of 76.47% and a negative net margin of 2.64%. The firm had revenue of $3.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.78 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.15 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Equitable will post 6.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -88.07%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 1,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.68, for a total value of $79,356.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 17,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $825,162.36. This represents a 8.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.40, for a total value of $1,332,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 658,555 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,239,842. This trade represents a 4.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 130,032 shares of company stock valued at $6,031,759. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equitable

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EQH. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Equitable by 195.6% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 532 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in shares of Equitable by 61.5% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 646 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the period. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equitable in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $48,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of Equitable by 86.3% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 718 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP raised its stake in Equitable by 623.5% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,366 shares of the company’s stock worth $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.