Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Price Target Raised to $51.00

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) had its target price hoisted by Jefferies Financial Group from $46.00 to $51.00 in a research report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the stock.

EQH has been the subject of a number of other reports. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Equitable from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Equitable from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 10th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Equitable from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Equitable from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Equitable from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Equitable currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $41.00.

Equitable Price Performance

EQH stock opened at $40.86 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $39.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.38. The company has a market capitalization of $13.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.65 and a beta of 1.41. Equitable has a 1-year low of $24.65 and a 1-year high of $41.95.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $2.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.59 billion. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.96 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Equitable will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equitable Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 3rd were given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.35%. This is a positive change from Equitable’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.72%.

Insider Activity at Equitable

In related news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.24, for a total value of $1,087,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 685,025 shares in the company, valued at $24,825,306. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Equitable news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 9,969 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.62, for a total value of $394,971.78. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 121,521 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,814,662.02. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.24, for a total value of $1,087,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 685,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,825,306. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 202,411 shares of company stock worth $7,646,571 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equitable

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. iA Global Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Equitable by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,132 shares of the company’s stock worth $233,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. 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 worth $2,949,000 after buying an additional 329 shares during the period. TCW Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Equitable by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 71,986 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,397,000 after buying an additional 371 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Equitable by 26.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,939 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,000 after buying an additional 405 shares during the period. Finally, US Bancorp DE raised its stake in shares of Equitable by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 10,068 shares of the company’s stock worth $383,000 after buying an additional 423 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

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.