Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Price Target Raised to $68.00

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) had its target price lifted by Morgan Stanley from $66.00 to $68.00 in a report released on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the stock.

EQH has been the subject of several other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Equitable from $45.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Equitable from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Equitable from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Equitable from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $47.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Equitable currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.75.

Equitable Trading Down 3.7 %

Shares of EQH opened at $49.55 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $52.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $47.46. 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 has a 52-week low of $34.95 and a 52-week high of $56.00. The company has a market cap of $15.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.97 and a beta of 1.39.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. Analysts predict that Equitable will post 7.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Equitable news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,666 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,776,023.24. The trade was a 6.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 1,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 17,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 sold a total of 131,698 shares of company stock valued at $6,534,234 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EQH. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Equitable by 195.6% in the fourth 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 lifted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 61.5% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 646 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 111.2% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 678 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 33.2% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 799 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Bank Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 61.4% in the fourth quarter. Mizuho Bank Ltd. now owns 1,130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 430 shares in the last quarter. 92.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.