Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Issues Positive Forecast for Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Stock Price

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) had its price target boosted by stock analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $62.00 to $66.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price target points to a potential upside of 20.71% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Equitable from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Equitable from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $47.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Equitable from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays increased 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.17.

Equitable Price Performance

Shares of EQH traded up $0.55 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $54.68. 278,239 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,766,644. The company has a market cap of $17.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.31 and a beta of 1.39. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $51.54 and its 200 day moving average is $46.69. Equitable has a fifty-two week low of $32.96 and a fifty-two week high of $56.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by ($0.08). Equitable had a return on equity of 85.70% and a net margin of 10.51%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Equitable will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Equitable news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,666 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.31, for a total transaction of $315,368.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 98,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,677,776.25. The trade was a 6.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.31, for a total value of $1,419,300.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 639,939 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,275,514.09. This trade represents a 4.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 131,698 shares of company stock valued at $6,534,234 over the last 90 days. 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 stock. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Equitable by 195.6% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in Equitable by 61.5% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 646 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in Equitable by 111.2% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 678 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Equitable by 33.2% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 799 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the period. Finally, Mizuho Bank Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 61.4% during the fourth quarter. Mizuho Bank Ltd. now owns 1,130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 430 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

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.