Barclays Increases Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Price Target to $61.00

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) had its price objective increased by Barclays from $60.00 to $61.00 in a report issued on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the stock.

EQH has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Equitable from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $54.00 to $58.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Equitable from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Equitable has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.00.

Equitable Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EQH opened at $49.05 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63. The company’s 50 day moving average is $47.36 and its 200 day moving average is $43.75. Equitable has a twelve month low of $31.76 and a twelve month high of $50.51. The company has a market cap of $15.37 billion, a PE ratio of -45.00 and a beta of 1.39.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last posted 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 negative net margin of 2.64% and a positive return on equity of 76.47%. The business had revenue of $3.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.78 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.15 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Equitable will post 6.05 EPS for the current year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were issued a $0.24 dividend. 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 is currently -88.07%.

Insider Activity at Equitable

In related news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 658,555 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,239,842. The trade was a 4.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 1,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.68, for a total value of $79,356.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 17,677 shares of the company’s stock, 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 130,032 shares of company stock worth $6,031,759. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equitable

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position 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 in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its position 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 in the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Equitable in the third quarter valued at $48,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised 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 worth $65,000 after buying an additional 718 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 623.5% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,000 after purchasing an additional 2,039 shares in the last quarter. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.