Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Price Target Lowered to $54.00 at Morgan Stanley

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) had its target price reduced by Morgan Stanley from $59.00 to $54.00 in a report issued on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Equitable from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Equitable from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Equitable from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Zacks Research cut Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Equitable from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.64.

Equitable Stock Down 3.0%

Shares of Equitable stock opened at $39.28 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $45.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.04. Equitable has a 52-week low of $37.51 and a 52-week high of $56.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.15, a P/E/G ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.42, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a current ratio of 0.13.

Equitable declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 7.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -22.41%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 4,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.27, for a total value of $203,261.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 15,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $738,593.75. This trade represents a 21.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Nick Lane sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.87, for a total value of $1,436,100.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 119,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,742,389.46. The trade was a 20.01% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 157,280 shares of company stock valued at $7,455,677 over the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Equitable

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Equitable in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in Equitable by 592.6% in the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 561 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in Equitable in the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Hilltop National Bank purchased a new stake in Equitable during the third quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its position in Equitable by 124.7% during 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. 92.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.