Analysts Set Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) PT at $48.70

Shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $48.70.

A number of research firms have commented on EQH. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Equitable from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Equitable from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Equitable from $48.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th.

Equitable Stock Performance

Shares of EQH opened at $47.25 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $14.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -43.35 and a beta of 1.38. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $45.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.66. Equitable has a 12 month low of $31.62 and a 12 month high of $50.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.53. The company had revenue of $3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.78 billion. Equitable had a positive return on equity of 76.47% and a negative net margin of 2.64%. Equitable’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.15 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Equitable will post 6.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th were issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 26th. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is -88.07%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equitable

In other Equitable news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.78, for a total transaction of $1,223,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 668,555 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,263,672.90. This trade represents a 4.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO William James Iv Eckert sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.42, for a total value of $148,470.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 19,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $819,596.82. This trade represents a 15.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 100,166 shares of company stock valued at $4,443,605 over the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equitable

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cetera Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Equitable by 37.5% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 13,227 shares of the company’s stock worth $503,000 after buying an additional 3,608 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Equitable by 141.4% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,605 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,000 after acquiring an additional 1,526 shares during the last quarter. DNB Asset Management AS grew its holdings in shares of Equitable by 15.2% in the second quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 58,140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,376,000 after purchasing an additional 7,674 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Equitable by 42.5% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $171,000 after purchasing an additional 1,246 shares in the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Equitable by 3.4% in the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 80,998 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,310,000 after purchasing an additional 2,655 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

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.