Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Upgraded to “Buy” at UBS Group

UBS Group upgraded shares of Equitable (NYSE:EQH) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $77.00 target price on the stock, up from their previous target price of $49.00.

EQH has been the topic of a number of other reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $47.00 to $58.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Equitable from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Equitable from $45.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Equitable from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Equitable from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.75.

Equitable Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EQH opened at $54.97 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $53.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.69. The firm has a market cap of $16.87 billion, a PE ratio of 14.39 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07. Equitable has a 1-year low of $35.49 and a 1-year high of $56.00.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($0.08). Equitable had a return on equity of 85.70% and a net margin of 10.51%. Research analysts predict that Equitable will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is 25.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equitable

In other news, insider Nick Lane sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.65, for a total transaction of $1,291,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 121,629 shares in the company, valued at $6,282,137.85. The trade was a 17.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,666 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.65, for a total value of $364,296.90. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 92,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,039,221.85. This trade represents a 6.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 103,332 shares of company stock worth $5,364,610 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equitable

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in Equitable by 33.2% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 799 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Equitable by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,577 shares of the company’s stock worth $310,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Equitable by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 9,554 shares of the company’s stock valued at $451,000 after buying an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in shares of Equitable by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,768 shares of the company’s stock valued at $131,000 after buying an additional 266 shares during the period. Finally, Colonial Trust Co SC grew its position in Equitable by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 4,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $202,000 after buying an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. 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.