Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Receives New Coverage from Analysts at Barclays

Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Equitable (NYSE:EQH) in a research report released on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued an overweight rating and a $59.00 price target on the stock.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on EQH. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Equitable from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Equitable from $36.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Equitable from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Equitable from $41.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Equitable from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $46.64.

Equitable Stock Down 2.3 %

Equitable stock opened at $39.58 on Wednesday. Equitable has a twelve month low of $24.65 and a twelve month high of $44.50. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $41.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $39.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.25 and a beta of 1.42.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.03. Equitable had a return on equity of 87.49% and a net margin of 7.87%. The company had revenue of $3.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.71 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.17 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 47.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Equitable will post 6.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th were given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 6th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.43%. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.72%.

Insider Transactions at Equitable

In related news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.20, for a total value of $1,266,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 678,555 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,635,021. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.20, for a total value of $1,266,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 678,555 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,635,021. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 9,969 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.09, for a total value of $429,564.21. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 111,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,806,775.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 49,938 shares of company stock valued at $2,090,536 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equitable

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Truist Financial Corp boosted its position in Equitable by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 7,888 shares of the company’s stock worth $263,000 after acquiring an additional 684 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp acquired a new stake in Equitable during the fourth quarter worth approximately $80,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Equitable by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,096,735 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,821,000 after acquiring an additional 22,976 shares during the last quarter. Van Leeuwen & Company LLC boosted its position in Equitable by 21.4% during the fourth quarter. Van Leeuwen & Company LLC now owns 11,993 shares of the company’s stock worth $399,000 after acquiring an additional 2,116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Qsemble Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Equitable during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,477,000. 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.