Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) Receives $61.75 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $61.75.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on EQH. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Equitable from $62.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Barclays boosted their target price on Equitable from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Mizuho set a $68.00 target price on Equitable in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $66.00 price target on shares of Equitable in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Equitable from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th.

Equitable Stock Performance

Shares of EQH opened at $50.01 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $13.65 billion, a PE ratio of -15.11, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.75, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a current ratio of 0.15. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $48.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.54. Equitable has a 52 week low of $35.19 and a 52 week high of $55.15.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.05. Equitable had a negative net margin of 8.72% and a positive return on equity of 511.35%. The company had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 29.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Equitable will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. Equitable’s payout ratio is -36.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Equitable news, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 947 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.88, for a total value of $50,077.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 8,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $445,196.72. The trade was a 10.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Craig C. Mackay sold 2,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.37, for a total transaction of $113,014.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 18,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $975,978.63. This trade represents a 10.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 114,541 shares of company stock valued at $5,357,784. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equitable

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of EQH. Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Equitable in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Root Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Equitable by 64.1% during the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 888 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Equitable during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in shares of Equitable by 124.7% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Equitable in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. 92.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Equitable

Equitable Holdings, Inc (NYSE: EQH) is a leading provider of life insurance, annuities and retirement plan services in the United States. Through its insurance subsidiary, AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company, the firm offers a broad range of permanent and term life insurance products designed to help individuals and families manage risk and build wealth. In addition, Equitable provides fixed, variable and indexed annuity solutions to support income planning in retirement, as well as a suite of group retirement and pension plan services for employers and plan sponsors.

The company also maintains an asset management arm that delivers investment strategies across equities, fixed income and alternative asset classes for both retail and institutional clients.