Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Downgraded to “Sell” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Equitable (NYSE:EQH) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report published on Saturday.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on EQH. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Equitable from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Equitable from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Equitable in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and set a $63.00 price target on shares of Equitable in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Equitable from $67.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $64.45.

Equitable Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE:EQH opened at $47.43 on Friday. Equitable has a 52 week low of $41.39 and a 52 week high of $56.61. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $52.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $51.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.94, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a current ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market cap of $14.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.25 and a beta of 1.10.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is currently 87.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 39,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.05, for a total transaction of $2,106,085.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 703,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,295,688.45. The trade was a 5.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robin M. Raju sold 36,888 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.00, for a total value of $1,991,952.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 140,258 shares in the company, valued at $7,573,932. This trade represents a 20.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 139,258 shares of company stock valued at $7,449,913 in the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Equitable

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of EQH. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Equitable by 157.5% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 39,898 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,026,000 after purchasing an additional 24,403 shares in the last quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group bought a new position in shares of Equitable in the third quarter worth $274,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its position in shares of Equitable by 3.0% in the third quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 69,393 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,524,000 after buying an additional 2,014 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its stake in Equitable by 5.0% during the third quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 64,668 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,284,000 after buying an additional 3,086 shares during the period. Finally, Hilltop National Bank purchased a new position in Equitable during the third quarter worth about $37,000. 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.