Analysts Set Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) Price Target at $61.82

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation, ten have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $61.8182.

Several research firms have weighed in on EQH. Barclays lifted their price objective on Equitable from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. UBS Group raised their target price on Equitable from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Zacks Research raised Equitable from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Wolfe Research cut shares of Equitable from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $66.00 target price on shares of Equitable in a research report on Thursday, August 20th.

Insider Transactions at Equitable

In related news, Director Charles Stonehill sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.54, for a total value of $386,550.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 34,357 shares in the company, valued at $1,770,759.78. The trade was a 17.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Bertram Scott sold 1,466 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.15, for a total transaction of $74,985.90. Following the sale, the director directly owned 26,465 shares in the company, valued at $1,353,684.75. This trade represents a 5.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 69,736 shares of company stock worth $3,507,536 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equitable

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in Equitable by 64.1% in the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 888 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Equitable in the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Equitable by 124.7% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 728 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. Essential Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Equitable by 245.2% in the first quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 1,084 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 770 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP bought a new position in shares of Equitable during the second quarter valued at $55,000. Institutional investors own 92.70% of the company’s stock.

Equitable Stock Performance

Shares of EQH stock opened at $54.00 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.31, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $50.54 and a 200 day moving average of $44.55. Equitable has a 52 week low of $35.19 and a 52 week high of $55.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.75.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.84 billion. Equitable had a negative net margin of 8.72% and a positive return on equity of 511.35%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 29.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.10 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Equitable will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Equitable Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -36.25%.

About Equitable

Equitable Holdings, Inc is a financial services company that provides retirement, life insurance and wealth management solutions. Its businesses serve individuals, families, employers and institutions through financial professionals and advisory channels.

The company’s principal operations include Equitable, which offers individual life insurance, annuities, retirement plans and employee benefits, and Equitable Advisors, which provides financial planning and investment advice. Equitable Holdings also owns a majority interest in AllianceBernstein, a global investment management firm serving institutional and retail clients.

The company traces its history to 1859, when the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States was founded.