Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Upgraded to Buy at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) was upgraded by equities researchers at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Friday, Marketbeat reports. The firm presently has a $58.00 price target on the stock, up from their prior price target of $47.00. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft’s price target suggests a potential upside of 20.48% from the company’s current price.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on EQH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Equitable from $45.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Equitable from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $54.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Equitable from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Equitable from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.64.

Equitable Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EQH opened at $48.14 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63. The company has a market capitalization of $15.08 billion, a PE ratio of -44.16 and a beta of 1.38. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $47.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.85. Equitable has a twelve month low of $31.76 and a twelve month high of $50.51.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.15 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Equitable will post 6.05 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Equitable

In other Equitable news, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 1,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 17,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $825,162.36. This trade represents a 8.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.40, for a total transaction of $1,332,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 658,555 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,239,842. The trade was a 4.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 130,032 shares of company stock worth $6,031,759. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equitable

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of Equitable by 61.5% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 646 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in Equitable by 5.1% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 6,852 shares of the company’s stock valued at $288,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Equitable by 195.6% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 532 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its stake in Equitable by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 13,541 shares of the company’s stock worth $569,000 after buying an additional 476 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Equitable by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 12,733 shares of the company’s stock worth $535,000 after buying an additional 548 shares during 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.