Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Stock

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) had its price objective raised by Wells Fargo & Company from $53.00 to $61.00 in a research note released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on EQH. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Equitable in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Barclays boosted their target price on Equitable from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Equitable from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Equitable from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $47.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Equitable has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $56.58.

Equitable Stock Performance

Shares of Equitable stock opened at $51.44 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $50.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.46 and a beta of 1.39. Equitable has a 12 month low of $32.96 and a 12 month high of $56.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($0.08). Equitable had a net margin of 10.51% and a return on equity of 85.70%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Equitable will post 7.33 EPS for the current year.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. Equitable’s payout ratio is 25.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,666 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.38, for a total transaction of $369,163.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 104,298 shares in the company, valued at $5,776,023.24. The trade was a 6.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nick Lane sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.84, for a total value of $1,146,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 141,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,492,273.36. The trade was a 15.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 131,698 shares of company stock worth $6,534,234 over the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equitable

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Equitable by 195.6% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of Equitable by 61.5% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 646 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Equitable by 111.2% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 678 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of Equitable by 33.2% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 799 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Bank Ltd. increased its position in shares of Equitable by 61.4% during the 4th quarter. Mizuho Bank Ltd. now owns 1,130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 430 shares during the last quarter. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Equitable

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.