Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at BMO Capital Markets

Analysts at BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Equitable (NYSE:EQH) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage set an “outperform” rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets’ target price indicates a potential upside of 31.73% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Equitable from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $47.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Equitable from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Equitable from $45.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Equitable from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Equitable from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $54.00 to $58.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.67.

Equitable Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE EQH opened at $53.14 on Thursday. Equitable has a one year low of $31.76 and a one year high of $53.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a current ratio of 0.12. The company has a market capitalization of $16.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -48.75 and a beta of 1.39. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $48.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $44.59.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.53. The company had revenue of $3.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.78 billion. Equitable had a negative net margin of 2.64% and a positive return on equity of 76.47%. Equitable’s revenue was down 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.15 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Equitable will post 6.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Equitable news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.65, for a total transaction of $1,549,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 629,939 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,536,349.35. This trade represents a 4.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,666 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.65, for a total value of $364,296.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 92,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,039,221.85. This trade represents a 6.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 161,698 shares of company stock valued at $7,904,806 over the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equitable

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Equitable by 195.6% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 352 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd grew 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 acquiring an additional 246 shares during the period. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Equitable in the 3rd quarter valued at about $48,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Equitable by 86.3% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 718 shares during the period. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position in Equitable by 298.3% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,689 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 1,265 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, 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.