Mizuho Initiates Coverage on Equitable (NYSE:EQH)

Research analysts at Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Equitable (NYSE:EQH) in a research note issued on Monday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage set an “outperform” rating and a $66.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 36.43% from the stock’s current price.

EQH has been the subject of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Equitable from $65.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Wall Street Zen cut Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, November 16th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Equitable from $67.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Equitable in a report on Monday. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Equitable from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Equitable presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $64.33.

Equitable Stock Performance

NYSE:EQH opened at $48.38 on Monday. Equitable has a twelve month low of $41.39 and a twelve month high of $56.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.87. The stock has a market cap of $13.86 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.57 and a beta of 1.12. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $46.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $50.89.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by ($0.11). Equitable had a negative net margin of 5.80% and a positive return on equity of 107.71%. The company had revenue of $1.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.65 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.58 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 52.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Equitable will post 7.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Equitable

In other news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,790 shares of Equitable stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.35, for a total transaction of $328,296.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 61,813 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,988,658.55. This trade represents a 9.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 39,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.14, for a total value of $1,712,658.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 676,540 shares in the company, valued at $29,185,935.60. The trade was a 5.54% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 180,658 shares of company stock valued at $8,927,601 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equitable

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Equitable in the second quarter worth $703,060,000. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in Equitable by 49.5% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,012,837 shares of the company’s stock worth $559,232,000 after buying an additional 3,645,301 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Equitable in the 3rd quarter worth about $101,547,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its stake in Equitable by 553.0% during the 2nd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 2,166,713 shares of the company’s stock valued at $121,553,000 after acquiring an additional 1,834,889 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 26.4% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,428,619 shares of the company’s stock valued at $415,786,000 after acquiring an additional 1,551,551 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.