Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Price Target Raised to $53.00

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) had its price objective raised by Citigroup from $41.00 to $53.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on EQH. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Equitable from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Equitable from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Equitable from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Equitable from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Equitable from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Equitable currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $43.45.

Equitable Stock Performance

Shares of Equitable stock opened at $43.08 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $14.01 billion, a PE ratio of 13.34 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.50. Equitable has a one year low of $24.65 and a one year high of $43.53.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $2.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.59 billion. Equitable’s quarterly revenue was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.96 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Equitable will post 6.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 3rd were paid a $0.24 dividend. This is an increase from Equitable’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 3rd. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equitable

In other Equitable news, insider Seth P. Bernstein sold 152,473 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.06, for a total value of $5,803,122.38. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 88,660 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,374,399.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Equitable news, insider Seth P. Bernstein sold 152,473 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.06, for a total value of $5,803,122.38. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 88,660 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,374,399.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 9,969 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.62, for a total value of $394,971.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 121,521 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,814,662.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 172,411 shares of company stock worth $6,627,658 in the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equitable

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of EQH. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new position in shares of Equitable during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Equitable by 143.1% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,004 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 591 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Equitable by 126.2% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,262 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 704 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Equitable during the 1st quarter worth $45,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Equitable during the 4th quarter worth $50,000. 92.70% of the stock is currently 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.