Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Raised to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

EQH has been the subject of a number of other reports. Raymond James Financial set a $60.00 target price on Equitable in a research note on Monday, January 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $60.00 target price on Equitable in a report on Monday, January 5th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Equitable from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Mizuho set a $65.00 price objective on Equitable in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Equitable in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.27.

Equitable Stock Down 4.1%

EQH opened at $40.18 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $46.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.42. The company has a market cap of $11.26 billion, a PE ratio of -8.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 1.12. Equitable has a twelve month low of $39.36 and a twelve month high of $56.61.

Equitable declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 11th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 7.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equitable

In related news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 6,790 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.65, for a total transaction of $323,543.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 55,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,621,845.95. This represents a 10.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Pearson sold 39,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.20, for a total value of $1,834,140.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 652,945 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,166,059. This represents a 5.73% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 157,280 shares of company stock worth $7,455,677. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Equitable

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EQH. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Equitable during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in Equitable by 592.6% in the 2nd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 561 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Equitable by 124.7% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 728 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 404 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equitable during the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Hilltop National Bank bought a new position in Equitable during the third quarter worth about $37,000. 92.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equitable Company Profile

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.