Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Raised to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Saturday.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Raymond James Financial set a $60.00 price objective on Equitable in a report on Monday, January 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Equitable from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Equitable in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Equitable from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on Equitable from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Equitable currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.27.

Equitable Stock Down 4.1%

EQH opened at $40.18 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.26 billion, a PE ratio of -8.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 1.12. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.42. Equitable has a 52 week low of $39.36 and a 52 week high of $56.61.

Equitable declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 11th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 7.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Equitable news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,790 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.65, for a total value of $323,543.50. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 55,023 shares in the company, valued at $2,621,845.95. This trade represents a 10.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Nick Lane sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.65, for a total transaction of $1,429,500.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 99,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,762,998.70. This represents a 23.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 157,280 shares of company stock worth $7,455,677. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equitable

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of EQH. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 17,258,124 shares of the company’s stock valued at $822,351,000 after purchasing an additional 1,132,861 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 23.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 13,545,628 shares of the company’s stock worth $645,449,000 after buying an additional 2,532,791 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Equitable during the 2nd quarter worth $703,060,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Equitable by 26.4% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,428,619 shares of the company’s stock valued at $415,786,000 after buying an additional 1,551,551 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Equitable by 29.6% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,498,091 shares of the company’s stock valued at $308,443,000 after acquiring an additional 1,254,521 shares in the last quarter. 92.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equitable Company Profile

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.