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

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) shares 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.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on EQH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Equitable from $45.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Equitable from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Equitable in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $70.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Equitable from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Equitable from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $56.58.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equitable

In other news, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 1,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 17,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $825,162.36. The trade was a 8.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,666 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.38, for a total value of $369,163.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 104,298 shares in the company, valued at $5,776,023.24. This represents a 6.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 131,698 shares of company stock worth $6,534,234. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Forum Financial Management LP acquired a new position in Equitable during the 4th quarter worth approximately $208,000. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its holdings in Equitable by 87.9% during the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 84,148 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,969,000 after purchasing an additional 39,354 shares in the last quarter. Invst LLC increased its holdings in Equitable by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Invst LLC now owns 24,165 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,140,000 after purchasing an additional 365 shares in the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. increased its holdings in Equitable by 154.4% during the 4th quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 26,429 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,247,000 after purchasing an additional 16,039 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its holdings in Equitable by 154.3% during the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,386 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 841 shares in the last quarter. 92.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equitable Trading Down 4.7 %

The company has a market capitalization of $16.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.46 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07, a current ratio of 0.07 and a quick ratio of 0.12. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $50.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.25.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($0.08). Equitable had a net margin of 10.51% and a return on equity of 85.70%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.