Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Upgraded by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods to “Outperform” Rating

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) was upgraded by stock analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report released on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a $58.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $54.00. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price objective points to a potential upside of 25.05% from the stock’s current price.

EQH has been the topic of several other research reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Equitable from $48.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Equitable from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Equitable from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.10.

Equitable Stock Down 0.8 %

EQH opened at $46.38 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a current ratio of 0.12. Equitable has a fifty-two week low of $31.76 and a fifty-two week high of $50.51. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $46.12 and its 200 day moving average is $42.77. The stock has a market cap of $14.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -42.55 and a beta of 1.38.

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

Insider Activity at Equitable

In other Equitable news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.78, for a total value of $1,223,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 668,555 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,263,672.90. The trade was a 4.29 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.42, for a total transaction of $148,470.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 19,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $819,596.82. This trade represents a 15.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 100,166 shares of company stock worth $4,443,605. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equitable

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EQH. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in Equitable by 61.5% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 646 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Equitable by 892.9% in the 2nd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 1,112 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 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. lifted its position in shares of Equitable by 86.3% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 718 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of Equitable by 623.5% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,366 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 2,039 shares during the period. 92.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.