Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Hits New 52-Week High on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) hit 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 traded. The stock had previously closed at $39.16.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on EQH. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Equitable from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Equitable from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Equitable from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Equitable from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Equitable from $34.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equitable currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $40.30.

Insider Activity

In other Equitable news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 703,254 shares in the company, valued at $23,748,887.58. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Equitable news, Director Charles G.T. Stonehill sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.02, for a total value of $170,100.00. Following the completion of 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 703,254 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,748,887.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 314,380 shares of company stock worth $11,518,571. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EQH. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Equitable by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 88,548 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,949,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares during the period. TCW Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Equitable by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 71,986 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,397,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Equitable by 26.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,939 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its holdings in Equitable by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 27,566 shares of the company’s stock worth $783,000 after acquiring an additional 418 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Equitable by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 13,097 shares of the company’s stock worth $498,000 after buying an additional 528 shares during the last quarter. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equitable Stock Up 0.7 %

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $36.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.82 billion, a PE ratio of 12.21 and a beta of 1.40.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $2.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.96 EPS. Equitable’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Equitable Holdings, Inc. will post 6.06 EPS for the current year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

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