Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Reaches New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $46.48 and last traded at $46.17, with a volume of 262974 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $45.81.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on EQH shares. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Equitable from $41.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Equitable from $44.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Equitable from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Equitable from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $48.70.

Equitable Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.06. The company has a market cap of $14.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.18 and a beta of 1.41. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $40.93.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $3.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.71 billion. Equitable had a net margin of 7.87% and a return on equity of 87.49%. Equitable’s quarterly revenue was up 47.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.17 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 6.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Equitable news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of Equitable 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 678,555 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,635,021. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.20, for a total value of $1,266,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 678,555 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,635,021. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.42, for a total value of $148,470.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 19,321 shares in the company, valued at $819,596.82. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 93,500 shares of company stock valued at $3,969,870. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Equitable during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in Equitable during the first quarter worth $45,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Equitable during the third quarter worth $48,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Equitable by 86.3% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 718 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Equitable by 141.4% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,605 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,000 after buying an additional 1,526 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

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.