Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Sets New 12-Month High After Analyst Upgrade

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday after Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on the stock from $41.00 to $43.00. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has a market perform rating on the stock. Equitable traded as high as $39.63 and last traded at $39.51, with a volume of 100878 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $39.16.

EQH has been the topic of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Equitable from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Equitable from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Equitable from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. UBS Group increased their price objective on Equitable from $34.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Equitable from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $40.30.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.77, for a total transaction of $2,026,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 703,254 shares in the company, valued at $23,748,887.58. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Equitable news, Director Charles G.T. Stonehill sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.02, for a total transaction of $170,100.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 29,758 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,012,367.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 60,000 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.77, for a total transaction of $2,026,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 703,254 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,748,887.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 314,380 shares of company stock valued at $11,518,571 over the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equitable

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in shares of Equitable by 92.7% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 339,221 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,630,000 after purchasing an additional 163,155 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Equitable in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $536,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 16.7% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 71,770 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,038,000 after acquiring an additional 10,284 shares during the period. Poplar Forest Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Equitable by 14.7% during the 3rd quarter. Poplar Forest Capital LLC now owns 1,488,595 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,261,000 after acquiring an additional 190,501 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CBOE Vest Financial LLC increased its stake in Equitable by 60.1% in the third quarter. CBOE Vest Financial LLC now owns 316,299 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,980,000 after acquiring an additional 118,683 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Equitable Price Performance

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $36.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.21 and a beta of 1.40.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $2.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.59 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.96 EPS. Equitable’s quarterly revenue was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 6.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.24%.

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.