Morgan Stanley Lowers Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Price Target to $58.00

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) had its price target dropped by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $68.00 to $58.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 24.89% from the stock’s previous close.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Barclays raised their price objective on Equitable from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Equitable from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Equitable from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $49.00 to $77.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Equitable from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Equitable from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.91.

Equitable Stock Performance

Shares of Equitable stock opened at $46.44 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $14.25 billion, a PE ratio of 12.16 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.94. Equitable has a one year low of $35.49 and a one year high of $56.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a current ratio of 0.07.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.57 EPS 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 expect that Equitable will post 7.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equitable

In other Equitable 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 value of $1,291,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 121,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.16, for a total transaction of $1,534,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 753,206 shares in the company, valued at $38,534,018.96. The trade was a 3.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 103,332 shares of company stock valued at $5,364,610. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equitable

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Unigestion Holding SA raised its holdings in Equitable by 69.0% in the 1st quarter. Unigestion Holding SA now owns 28,207 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,469,000 after purchasing an additional 11,513 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equitable in the first quarter valued at approximately $338,000. NBC Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Equitable by 113,245.5% during the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 12,468 shares of the company’s stock worth $649,000 after buying an additional 12,457 shares during the period. BTC Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Equitable by 20.4% during the 1st quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. now owns 66,217 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,449,000 after buying an additional 11,202 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Equitable by 6,323.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 540,225 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,140,000 after acquiring an additional 531,815 shares during the period. 92.70% of the stock is 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.